At least 6,000 jobs out of the total 50,000 vacancies that are to be filled in Jammu and Kashmir are part of the Prime Minister’s special package announced in 2015.
On August 28, J&K Governor Satyapal Malik said at a press conference in Srinagar that the government had identified 50,000 government jobs and vacancies will be filled soon.
A senior government official said out of the 50,000 jobs announced by Mr. Malik, 4,000 jobs are those of Special Police Officers (SPO), while another 2,000 personnel are to be recruited in border battalions. These vacancies were part of the ₹80,000-crore package announced by the Prime Minister in 2015.
At present, there are 30,000 SPOs in the State and they are paid an honorarium based on their experience. According to Home Ministry data, there are 10,821 SPOs with an experience of around 15 years who get an honorarium of ₹18,000 a month.
As many as 5,132 SPOs with 10 years’ experience get an honorarium of ₹15,000 per month, 4,436 SPOs who have completed five years get ₹12,000 and 1,134 SPOs who have completed three years get ₹9,000.
The Home Ministry had recently given the go-ahead to increase the honorarium which was earlier capped at ₹6,000. The SPOs do not hold permanent positions and have been engaged in the State since 1995.
New rules
Another official explained that separate rules will be notified to govern the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, passed by Parliament on August 6.
On August 5, Home Minister Amit Shah moved two Bills in the Rajya Sabha to read down Article 370 that had granted special status to J&K and and bifurcate the State into Union Territories.
“The rules governing the Act are being finalised; it will iron out the creases in the implementation of the new set-up. Recruitment and land are two important issues that need to be clarified,” the official said.
According to the Act, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of J&K has been increased from 107 to 114. After the appointed day — October 31 — as many as 106 central laws will be applicable to the Union Territory of J&K along with 166 State Acts including the Governor’s Act. Of the existing State laws, 153 will be repealed, the Act says.
