Delay in declaration of Class-IV posts due to poor response of candidates in indicating their order of preference: JKSSB

JKSSB has refuted the allegations that it has failed to declare the result of Class-IV posts conducted on February 27 and 28 and March 1 and claimed that poor response of candidates in indicating their order of preference for allotment against said vacancies and surge in Covid-19 became the cause of delay. The Board further explained that subsequently it called upon these candidates to indicate their order of preference for allotment against UT, divisional and district cadre vacancies up to 1st of April, 2021 which was extended multiple times up to 2nd May, 2021 due to extremely poor response of the candidates. Despite giving multiple opportunities, only 1.37 lakh candidates opted to give preferences after which the Board decided to proceed further. It was absolutely necessary to give adequate opportunity to candidates at this juncture, to avoid legal complicacies later, at the time of allocation of cadres/posts. An official statement by JKSSB states, "Also, due to poor response of candidates in indicating their order of preference for allotment against said vacancies, surge in COVID-19 cases across the UT, imposition of Corona lockdown and Health considerations, seamless working of the Board, including finalization of result for Class IV posts, got affected. Besides, it is a complex template being operationalized first time and the sheer number of the candidates is also prohibitive, which are bound to take reasonable time even in best of the circumstances. Moreover, the Result preparation is being carried out at multiple locations beyond the borders of J&K which were severely affected due to COVID-19 pandemic. All these factors have to be taken into consideration before jumping to any conclusion". The statement further stated, "All such vile attempts to sully the image of a credible and reputed institution like JKSSB will be dealt with suitably as per law as the Board and its officers reserve the right to seek legal action against any unsubstantiated, false, misleading and derogatory information that is being spread through any media. Needless to mention that the Services Selection Board and its Chairman on multiple occasions have made fervent appeal to public as well as the aspirants to beware of unscrupulous elements and also bring any such attempts immediately to the knowledge of the Board authorities for necessary action under law". "The Board has set highest standards of transparency and probity in recruitments in recent times, by conducting largest ever written examinations in the history of Jammu and Kashmir in a hassle-free and successful manner. We may err but not exploit, is the dictum being followed by the Services Selection Board" statement added. The statement stressed that it is also important for general public and aspirants to appreciate that after the constitutional changes of 5th August, 2019, and subsequent amendments carried out in March 2020, in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act, 2010, we have transitioned to a new legal framework wherein radically reformed templates of recruitment, with new methods and procedures have been introduced. A natural corollary of these legal changes is the need to make variety of new rules and statutory provisions by various authorities in the Government, which by nature, is a time-consuming process. Lots of amendments in rules/orders have already been notified by various Government Departments, particularly the General Administration Department, and some more are in the pipeline and shall be notified in due course. "As a consequence, thereof, on many occasions, the Services Selection Board has to operate within grey area, till the necessary amendments in statutory provisions and rules take place" JKSSB said in a statement.