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J&K and Ladakh to distribute staff among themselves by March-end

Staff of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir is all set to be allotted between the newly constituted Union Territories. It is estimated that it will be completed by March-end of this year as Ladakh is facing problems in managing important portfolios mainly at the Head of the Department (HoD) level.

Assets and liabilities of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir has already been distributed between the two Union Territories after being approved by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, officials said. However, staff is yet to be distributed, and as a result, the Union Territory of Ladakh faces a shortage of manpower.

Sources said that all the employees sent to the Union Territory of Ladakh are technically the employees of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. J&K administration must formally segregate officials. Until then, Ladakh will keep on facing difficulties especially in the Engineering Departments and at Head of the Department level.

According to the sources, Ladakh UT requested J&K UT to provide manpower for critical positions but only 175 officials have been deputed and most of them are not eligible for the positions which they hold. Because of lack of manpower, Ladakh is finding it extremely hard to execute developmental works. Ladakh UT will be able to fill up 19,500 posts only once staff gets properly distributed between both the UTs.

A high-level meeting was chaired by the Chief Secretary of Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, BVR Subrahmanyam, and the problem of distribution of staff members was brought in the meeting. The Chief Secretary of J&K UT felt that the staff must be distributed as early as possible so that both the UTs can manage human resource in an optimal way. Sources said that the Chief Secretary directed the General Administration Department to prepare the proposal for allocation of staff between two UTs regarding the requirements of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019.

Sources said that the process has been initiated and by March 31, 2021, this whole plan will be chalked out. The Ministry of Home Affairs is also of the opinion that this vital exercise must be completed as early as possible so that both the UTs can run properly.