Onlykashmir.in News Desk
Jammu and Kashmir’s recruitment machinery has come under fresh scrutiny after PDP legislator Waheed Ur Rehman Para flagged government figures showing that 21.12 lakh applications were received for just 15,964 advertised posts over the three financial years from 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Para, in a post on X, said the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission and the J&K Services Selection Board together collected nearly ₹114 crore in application fees during the period, even as 38 JKPSC examinations remained pending. He also questioned how a constitutional commission could function without a chairman and urged the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister to intervene. The figures were placed before the Legislative Assembly in reply to his question during the recently concluded sixth session.
The government reply shows that JKPSC conducted 245 recruitment examinations covering 4,961 posts, while JKSSB conducted 124 examinations covering 11,003 posts. JKPSC received 2,76,065 applications and collected ₹24.42 crore in fees, whereas JKSSB drew 18,36,056 applications and ₹89.49 crore, taking the combined tally to more than 21.12 lakh applications and about ₹113.91 crore. That works out to roughly 132 applications for every advertised post. More than 11.24 lakh candidates actually appeared in the examinations.
On the pending papers, the data lists 32 from 2025-26 and four from the period beginning April 1, 2026, in addition to two from 2023-24, with none from 2024-25. A total of ₹28.76 lakh had been collected in fees in connection with pending and cancelled examinations. The government has said JKPSC, with help from the National Informatics Centre, is developing an online mechanism to refund fees where posts are withdrawn or candidates pay more than once. It has clarified, however, that fees will not be returned merely because an examination is postponed, since the recruitment process is to continue.
The vacant chair adds to the unease. Reports published in September said the chairman’s post fell vacant after A.K. Choudhary retired in August, leaving the Commission with two serving members. Para linked the pending examinations and the leadership vacuum to growing uncertainty among job aspirants.
The debate unfolds against intense competition for government employment in the Union Territory. For lakhs of candidates who pay fees and prepare for years, the pace and predictability of examinations matter as much as the number of posts. Whether the administration fills the chairman’s post and clears the backlog will now be watched closely by aspirants and political parties alike.
