NEW DELHI:The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) deputation restrictions have been relaxed to encourage IAS and other All India Service Officers as well as those in the Central Services to accept postings in Jammu and Kashmir, said Union Minister Jitendra Singh.

 The minister said, 22 officers from various services and cadres have been appointed in Jammu and Kashmir at various levels at a crucial timeas a result of this waiver. Singh was describing to the media the many measures that had been taken to solve the officer shortage in the recently established Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Minister claimed that through working with the UT of J-K, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Union Public Service Commission, DoPT significantly contributed to the smooth induction of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services Officers into the IAS (UPSC). "As a result, 16 officers from the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (JKAS) have recently been inducted into the IAS, and another eight such vacancies will soon be filled, giving the JKAS officers the opportunity to rejoin the prestigious IAS service after a lengthy 12-year absence," Singh said.

The Minister further mentioned that Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and JKAS officers of various seniorities collaborated on mid-career training, which gave JKAS personnel and more than 200 offices access to a new level of exposure. Additionally, Singh listed some programmes run by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension of the Government of India, including special incentives and concessions for employees of the Central Government who work in the Kashmir Valley in PSUs that are under the Central Government's control.

Incentives such as an additional house rent allowance, composite transfer grant, per diem allowance, an incentive for a period of temporary duty, messing allowance, and the ability to draw pension at the place of settlement in relaxation of relevant provisions were extended to them for a period of three years beginning on August 1, 2021, he said. The Minister further stated that following the model of northeast States, the provision for retention of general pool housing provided to officers who have served in central government has been extended to officers deployed in Jammu and Kashmir.

The minister said, home LTC can be availed used to visit Jammu and Mashmir and Ladakh under the guidelines that DoP&T has announced. This would increase travel to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and give all central government employees the chance to travel to J&K and Ladakh. In addition to the aforementioned actions, three national conferences on good governance, attended by hundreds of J-K employees, were held, according to Singh. According to him, the nation's best practises were highlighted, and roughly 800 J-K government employees received training on how to handle complaints from the public effectively.

The Minister further disclosed that the J-K government had been assisted in moving to online functioning by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), which is part of the Ministry of Personnel. As a result, the UT exchequer would avoid spending more than Rs 200 cr on the transportation of records and other items during the Durbar move. He said that the District Good Governance Index was introduced by J-K to encourage healthy competition between districts in order to fulfill the objectives of saturating citizen services and enhancing district development activities.

In addition, J-K sponsored four policy papers on good governance that supported innovative development approaches in the difficult context of Jammu and Kashmir. The Minister added that J-K is given top priority by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that there will be ample support from the Center.

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