Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Government’s dramatic decision to cancel all transfer, posting and attachment orders issued during the final days of the former Director Health Services (DHS) Jammu’s tenure has triggered a political and administrative storm, with serious questions now being raised over the manner in which the department was allegedly run.
In an unprecedented move, the Health & Medical Education Department rescinded all orders issued between April 15 and April 30, restoring hundreds of employees to their original postings. The government cited “administrative exigencies” and the need to safeguard patient care and institutional efficiency.
The sweeping rollback has fuelled allegations that the outgoing DHS Jammu allegedly turned the department into a “transfer industry” during his final days in office, issuing a flurry of attachments, deployments and adjustments that reportedly left the health sector in chaos.
Officials within the department claim the volume and timing of the orders were highly unusual, with transfers affecting doctors, paramedics, non-gazetted staff and Class-IV employees across Jammu division within a short span of time.
Sources said many employees were shifted allegedly without administrative justification, while several health institutions faced uncertainty over manpower deployment. The government itself observed that the “timing and scale” of the transfers warranted intervention.
The cancellation order is being viewed in official circles as a strong indictment of the former DHS Jammu’s functioning, especially since the government directed immediate restoration of previous postings and warned of disciplinary action against anyone violating the fresh directives.
The controversy has also revived earlier criticism surrounding alleged favouritism and arbitrary attachments within the department. Social media posts and local reports had earlier raised concerns regarding “illegal transfers and attachments” under the former administration, though these allegations remain officially unproven.
Health sector employees say the latest development has exposed deep-rooted administrative irregularities in the system.
“This is not a routine cancellation. The government would not revoke such a huge number of orders overnight unless something was seriously wrong,” said an employee requesting anonymity.
The administration has now asked the Director Health Services Jammu to ensure strict implementation of the rollback and submit a compliance report within three days.
The episode has sparked demands for a high-level inquiry into the circumstances under which the transfers and attachments were issued and whether norms governing transparency, merit and institutional requirements were bypassed.
With the health department already battling staff shortages and infrastructure challenges, the controversy has once again highlighted how administrative instability at the top can directly impact healthcare delivery on the ground.
