Jammu: The recruitment for just 75 naib tehsildar posts has turned into a windfall for Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) which has collected over Rs 6.43 crore from aspirants in application fees, according to information obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) query.
With each form priced at Rs 600 for general and Rs 500 for reserved category, the money collected shows that over one lakh aspirants had applied for the posts but the deferment of the recruitment process last month has now left these candidates in limbo, RTI activist Raman Kumar Sharma said.
“The sheer scale of the response — over one lakh candidates vying for a meagre 75 posts — speaks volumes about the deepening unemployment crisis. It reflects the desperation of educated youth who, despite degrees and qualifications, are left with few opportunities,” Sharma, who filed the RTI application, told PTI.
The JKSSB in its response to the query said that an amount of Rs 6,43,28,400 was collected as fees from the candidates for 75 posts of naib tehsildar in the revenue department on June 9.
Sharma filed the RTI application on July 21, a week after the JKSSB deferred the recruitment until further notice after the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu, stayed the ‘Urdu-only’ rule for the recruitment.
The activist had sought details about the total number of applications, category-wise, received in response to the job notification and the money collected from them.
The Public Information Officer, JKSSB, in his reply on August 2, refused to share the information about the number of applications before the culmination of the selection process, but shared the details about the total fees collected.
“For thousands of aspirants, many from financially strained backgrounds, the deferment of the recruitment process not only means the loss of hope but also the loss of hard-earned money, as there is no return policy for the deposited application fee,” Sharma said.
Shortly after the advertisement, the recruitment ran into controversy over the mandatory Urdu clause, with the BJP leading the protests, seeking revocation of the “discriminatory order” across the Jammu region – a party bastion where it had won 29 Assembly seats last year.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah defended the Urdu only clause and said there was never any intention to prevent anyone from appearing for the exam.
“Even before Independence, our revenue records were in Urdu. How will a staff member in the revenue department work if he/she does not know Urdu?” Abdullah said earlier.
He said that in the past, officers of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service and Indian Administrative Service not versed in Urdu used to be given time to learn basics.
“I do not think staff members of the revenue department who do not know Urdu can be efficient for the job,” the National Conference leader said, and advocated for the policy that grants time to the people to learn the language after appointment.
On July 14, a two-member CAT bench stayed the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Revenue (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules of 2009 that mandate graduation with knowledge of Urdu as the minimum qualification for the post of naib tehsildar.
Former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, reacting to the CAT order, said, “It is deeply unfortunate that our judiciary appears to be influenced by divisive politics.”
The People’s Democratic Party president said, “Urdu, a recognised official language for decades, is now being unfairly communalised. Our revenue records and administrative work continue to be maintained in Urdu, and it is only logical that applicants for the post of naib tehsildar possess basic proficiency in the language. This requirement is rooted purely in administrative efficiency, not in any form of divisiveness.” (PTI)