Committee formed to examine rollback of SRO-202 job policy

SRINAGAR — In a significant development, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday constituted a committee to examine the job policy unveiled by the previous PDP-BJP government, commonly known as SRO-202.

The General Administration Department has constituted a committee to examine various issues related to the Jammu and Kashmir Special Recruitment Rules, 2015.

The panel to be headed by Chief Secretary BVR Subramanyam would examine the implications of the SRO-202 on the job structure in government as well as financial implications. Sources said that the panel has also been mandated to suggest a comprehensive approach as necessary.

The committee has been constituted at a time when there is growing demand for revocation of the SRO-202. The Financial Commissioner (Finance), Administrative Secretary, GAD and Law Secretary would be part of the panel.

The new job policy, also known as SRO-202, has come under criticism from different quarters since its unveiling in 2015. Under the new recruitment policy, a new recruit has to undergo a year probation period before being entitled to pay applicable to the post against which he/she is appointed.

Recently, the J&K Law Commission has stated that a probation period of five years appears to be disproportionate, supernatural, plethoric and limitless. “An employee cannot be asked to wend a tortuous journey tottering, or rather, doddering his/her way to register his/her claim for the completion of the period of his probation after a great deal and lull of five years,” reads the report.

Mincing no words in castigating the previous regime for devising the policy, the Commission also said that they kept the “sword of Damocles” hanging high on the heads of those recruited under the new policy.

“The ruling elite of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir lived a life which even ‘the Vikramaditiyas’ and ‘the Mughals’ would not have dreamt of. They made room for keeping palatial government houses at their disposal with modern facilities till such time that they live and to the contrary they kept the sword of Damocles hanging high on the heads of this set of employees,” read the report.