Jammu: On the first day after assuming charge as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena on Friday ordered a major recruitment drive in the Union Territory, with the administration announcing that 365 posts in the Ladakh Police, including 35 Sub-Inspectors, will be filled in April this year.
The announcement comes ahead of the proposed protest rallies by the Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) on March 16 in Leh and Kargil districts against what they describe as the “dilly-dallying tactics” of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in resuming dialogue on Ladakh’s core demands, including full-fledged statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
Addressing a joint press conference, Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra and Director General of Police Mukesh K. Singh said the new Lieutenant Governor has directed officials to fast-track recruitment against all vacant posts across government departments to address the employment aspirations of youth in the region.
Kundra said that since 2021, when Ladakh was granted powers to conduct its own recruitments, 3,179 appointments have already been made. “In addition, 874 more appointments have been finalised and appointment letters have either been issued or are ready for distribution,” he said.
He said the administration plans to organise “Rozgar Melas” in Leh and Kargil, where appointment letters will be distributed under the leadership of the Lieutenant Governor.
The Chief Secretary further said 697 additional recruitments are currently in the pipeline, including 473 graduate-level posts, for which examinations are scheduled to be conducted in April.
Besides this, 224 gazetted posts, including medical officers, lecturers and other positions, will be filled through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), he said.
Kundra said he recently met the UPSC Chairman and requested that the recruitment process be expedited in view of Ladakh’s special requirements. “The Chairman has assured us that the process will be fast-tracked,” he added.
The DGP Mukesh K. Singh said the advertisement for police recruitment will be issued shortly. “Orientation camps will be organised in both Leh and Kargil districts between April 1 and April 15 to familiarise aspirants with the physical efficiency tests and examination syllabus so that they do not face any inconvenience,” he said.
Officials described the recruitment initiative as a major opportunity for unemployed youth of the Union Territory, stating that a large number of vacancies across different levels in government departments will soon be filled.
Pertinently, the LAB and the KDA have announced protest rallies in Leh and Kargil on March 16 to mount pressure on the Centre for resuming dialogue on Ladakh’s core political demands, accusing the MHA of adopting “dilly-dallying tactics” in addressing the aspirations of the people. The decision follows the UT administration’s denial of permission to the LAB to hold a “peace rally” on March 12 against the Union government’s alleged delay in restoring the constitutional rights and democratic safeguards in Ladakh. The rallies had been planned a day ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of Ladakh’s new Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, scheduled for March 13 at the Lok Bhawan in Leh.
