Jammu and Kashmir seems to be becoming an administration of indecision as it takes more U-Turns than orders. To add to the latest incidents of indecision, appointment order of retired IAS officer BR Sharma as the Chairman of J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) was withdrawn within hours.
In an order on May 5, Lieutenant Governor of UT had appointed BR Sharma as the Chairman of JKPSC. The order read, “In exercise of powers conferred by section 93 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 and S.O. 3937 (E) dated October 31, 2019, read with order issued in terms of sub clause (i) of clause (c) of the proclamation issued by the President dated October 31, 2019, the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is pleased to appoint Mr BR Sharma, IAS (Retd), as Chairman, Public Service Commisison for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He shall hold the position of the Chairman, PSC, till he attains the age of sixty two years”.
However the order was withdrawn within hours. The confused administration of J&K forgot that BR Sharma who at present is the Chairman of Staff Selection Commission (SSC) had got an extension in his services on April 20 by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet that is headed by the PM of India.
Interestingly this was not the first incident of indecision on part of the J&K government as a similar faux pas was witnessed few days back when the Lt Governor Girish Chandra Murmu had announced that the annual Hindu pilgrimage of Amarnath stands cancelled due to Coronavirus. The order was withdrawn within an hour without a reason for the same. It was stated that the situation is being watched and an appropriate decision would be taken soon.
In a yet another incident regarding the UT of J&K, the Ministry of Home Affairs on March 31 modified the rules of domicile in which even ‘outsiders’ were allowed to get government jobs in the UT. However on April 3, the decision was reversed and all the posts in the state were reserved for domiciles only.
