JAMMU — Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said the Jammu and Kashmir government will initiate the process of regularising daily-rated, ad hoc and other temporary employees in a legally and financially sustainable manner in 2026, even as it plans to fill nearly 30,000 vacant posts during the current year.
Replying to discussions on grants of his departments and cut motions in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Abdullah said the issue of daily wagers and temporary workers had been raised across party lines and acknowledged that it had remained unresolved for decades.
“These employees have been struggling for 20, 30 and even 40 years. No government has been able to fully resolve the issue,” he said.
He informed the House that a committee under the supervision of the chief secretary has been constituted to examine the matter, ensuring that any policy framed does not run into legal or financial hurdles.
“Once the committee submits its report and the groundwork is completed in a transparent manner, we will place everything before the people,” Abdullah said, adding that regularisation could not be done overnight.
Rejecting any hurried approach, he said he was not willing to mislead workers by announcing decisions without proper preparation, stressing that the exact number of beneficiaries would be finalised through a structured process.
The chief minister recalled that more than one lakh daily wagers and casual labourers are currently engaged across government departments. He said the registered workforce includes 69,696 casual labourers, 8,836 daily-rated workers, 8,534 seasonal labourers, 5,757 food and civil supplies helpers, 2,153 part-time sweepers and 1,929 persons engaged through hospital development funds.
On employment generation, Abdullah drew a distinction between creation of posts and appointments, saying the government had already filled around 6,000 to 6,500 posts and now aims to fill nearly 30,000 vacancies this year without creating new positions.
He assured the House that all recruitments would be carried out in a transparent and time-bound manner in coordination with the Selection Board and the Public Service Commission to avoid legal challenges that had derailed recruitment processes in the past. — (PTI)