Srinagar, 15-Feb: A shocking turn of events has unfolded in Jammu and Kashmir’s Social Welfare Department, where the provisional selection list for the post of Supervisor has excluded all Persons with Disabilities (PwD) candidates. This move has sparked outrage, with many questioning the fairness and transparency of the recruitment process.
The controversy began when the Social Welfare Department referred 186 vacancies for the post of Supervisor to the Services Selection Board (SSB) without mentioning horizontal reservation for PwD candidates. Despite assurances from officials that 7 seats would be reserved for PwD candidates based on their 4% reservation, the provisional selection list uploaded by the SSB makes no mention of any PwD candidates.
The SSB’s explanation for this exclusion is that the calculation was made on a district cadre basis, and no post was identified for the PwD category since no district had 25 or more posts. However, this reasoning has been deemed “totally illegal” by critics, who point out that The provisional list shows candidates from one district being selected for a different district, The SSB conducted document verification for PwD candidates without clear guidelines.
They alleged that the Officials assured PwD candidates of 7 reserved seats, which were not reflected in the provisional selection list.
Notably, the rule is that 4% reservation should be given on the total number of posts referred by a department in a year, not based on a minimum number of posts per district.
This incident has raised concerns about the fairness and inclusivity of the recruitment process in Jammu and Kashmir’s Social Welfare Department. The exclusion of PwD candidates has been deemed a violation of their rights and a betrayal of trust.
