Around 6,000 gazetted, non-gazetted posts vacant in J&K health dept

Jahangeer Ganaie

Srinagar, Jul 22: There are around 6,000 gazetted and non-gazetted posts lying vacant in the health department in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to the status report filed by the Deputy Secretary to Government, Health and Medical Education Department, dated May 29, 2023, which has been accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), around 2,700 vacancies are in the Kashmir division while there are 3,200 vacancies in the Jammu division.

As per the report, in respect of the Jammu division, the total sanctioned strength of medical officers for all the ten districts is 1,390 posts, of which 726 are filed and 664 were lying vacant while out of the sanctioned strength of 6868 non-gazetted and Class IV Employees in Jammu Division, only 4379 positions are occupied, and 2489 positions are vacant.

In the Kashmir division, 1,395 posts of medical officers out of 1,467 are filed while just 72 are vacant; however, in the case of non-gazetted and Class IV Employees, out of the sanctioned strength of 8,628 posts, 5,976 positions are occupied, and 2651 are vacant.

A division bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, comprising Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice MA Chowdhary, has directed the J&K administration to place on record the steps taken to fill up vacant posts of medical officers as well as non-gazetted and class IV employees in the health department across Jammu & Kashmir.

“Under these circumstances, we direct the respondent authorities to indicate the steps taken to fill up a large number of vacancies in respect of medical officers as well as the non-gazetted and class IV employees in Jammu division as well as Kashmir division,” the division bench observed.

“Let the same be placed on record by way of an affidavit. The affidavit shall also indicate the steps taken in respect of the far-flung areas of districts of Reasi, Poonch, Ramban, Kupwara, Baramulla, etc where the vacancies appear to be quite significant,” it ordered.

The high court has fixed August 28 for the state to file its response in the shape of an affidavit “without fail”—(KNO)