Govt to clear 2000 cases under SRO 43 soon, vacancies identified

Major relief for kin of militancy victims, others

Majority to get jobs in Class-IV category

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, Oct 24: In a major relief for the youth awaiting compassionate appointments including victims of militancy, border shelling/ firing and normal death cases of employees, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to clear backlog of nearly 2000 SRO 43 appointments pending for past quite some time before the switch over to new policy for such jobs.

Official sources told the Excelsior that after the Government introduced new policy of Compassionate Appointments from January 1 this year, which was more or less on the pattern of the Central Government, a large number of cases under previous scheme of SRO 43 were pending for past quite some time.

Under SRO 43, the kin of those killed in militancy or border shelling-firing related acts and the Government employees who died during services, were eligible for job in the Government Departments. However, the new policy on Compassionate Appointments which came into effect from January 1, 2023, a merit-based criteria has been adopted for such posts and only those who fall in the criteria will get jobs while others will be paid a fixed amount of compensation.

According to sources, the Government has identified nearly 2000 vacancies, mostly in Class-IV category in different departments and very soon, 2000 cases pending under SRO 43 will be cleared giving jobs to as many youths who are waiting for past quite some time now.

“An extensive exercise was undertaken by the General Administration Department (GAD) to identify Class-IV and few other vacancies in various departments of Jammu and Kashmir. The exercise has now been completed. Very soon, the Jammu and Kashmir Government is expected to clear nearly 2000 cases of SRO 43,” the sources said.

They added that the Government decision will not only generate 2000 jobs but will also bring major relief to the victims of militancy, border shelling/firing and kin of dead Government employees who were waiting for compassionate appointments for a long time.

The new scheme which has already come into force will grant appointment or monetary compensation on compassionate grounds to a dependent family member of a Government servant, who may die in harness or as a result of militancy-related action or due to enemy action on the Line of Control/International Border within Jammu and Kashmir and is not involved in militancy-related activities or retires on invalid pension, thereby, leaving his family in penury and without any means of livelihood.

The scheme will extend relief to the family of the Government servant and save them from financial destitution.

To bring greater transparency and equity, besides ensuring adequate safeguards against the misuse of the rehabilitation assistance framework, the new scheme has incorporated provisions for receiving online applications in a centralized manner in the GAD on a designated portal.

Under the new scheme, the number of vacancies and the merit list of the eligible candidates will be prepared annually and eligible candidates will be considered purely on the basis of merit obtained with regard to a point-based merit system on quarterly basis. Both the list of vacancies and merit list of candidates will be put out in the public domain to make the process fully transparent and accountable.

The appointment on compassionate grounds will be made for the multi-tasking staff or equivalent or lowest non-gazetted cadre posts in the department.

However, if an applicant is a graduate or has higher qualification, there are provisions to allow discretion for considering appointment in the non-gazetted cadre.

Even after introduction of new policy, the compassionate appointment cases still pending disposal in GAD under the existing SRO 43 rule for various reasons, including relaxation of rules and identification of post in other department, will be dealt with in accordance with SRO 43 of 1994, as amended from time to time

In J&K, GI index of Hr Edu institutes above national average for 18-23 year old students

Riyaz Bhat

Srinagar, Oct 24 (KNO): In Jammu and Kashmir, Gender Parity Index (GPI) is above the national average in higher educational institutes for 18-23 year-old students.

As per the official figures accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the national average of GPI in higher educational institutes for 18-23 years old students is 1.05 in all categories.

However, Jammu and Kashmir has a GPI of 1.18 in all categories.

In the education space, GPI is used to measure gender equality in education access.

Government and international organisations such as UNESCO and the United Nations monitor the gender gap in education access, using GPI to identify sectors where intervention is needed to address gender disparities.

Among the scheduled caste students, GPI in Jammu and Kashmir is also above the national average with 1.27 whereas the national average lies at 1.7.

Likewise, the GPI of Schedule Tribe students of higher education in Jammu and Kashmir is 0.92 while the national average is 1.02.

A GPI of less than 1 suggests girls are more disadvantaged than boys in learning opportunities and a GPI of greater than 1 suggests the other way around—(KNO)