The Centre on Thursday merged Jammu and Kashmir cadre IAS, IPS and IFS officers with that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT), additionally referred to as the Union Territory cadre, by an ordinance.
The transfer will enable officers posted in these states and UTs to work in J&Okay and vice versa.
In a gazette notification, the federal government stated the President has promulgated an ordinance to amend J&Okay Reorganisation Act, 2019.
The Act had made provision for retention of J&Okay cadre for present officers and said that new officers posted within the state would henceforth come from UT cadre. The ordinance has now merged the present J&Okay cadre as effectively with UT cadre.
“It’s a follow-up to J&K turning into UT and merging into the mainstream. It was an obvious next step because now it’s a UT,” MoS, PMO and Personnel, Jitendra Singh instructed The Indian Express.
ExplainedPolitical message, administrative transferThe merger of the present J&Okay cadre of IAS, IPS and IFS officers is each a political and administrative transfer. It sends the message of whole integration of J&Okay with the Centre whereas placing a query mark on the time it could take to return the area’s statehood. The transfer can be seen to have been necessitated by the reluctance of J&Okay cadre officers to serve in Ladakh. It offers authorities a bigger expertise pool for the UTs.
The ordinance has changed sub-sections 2-6 of the legislation with two sub-sections, which say that members of IAS, IPS and IFS for the present J&Okay cadre “shall be borne and become part of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories cadre, and all future allocations of All India Services Officers for the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh shall be made to Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union territories cadre for which necessary modifications may be made in corresponding cadre allocation rules” by the Centre.
It says officers “so borne or allocated” on AGMUT cadre shall operate in accordance with guidelines framed by the Centre.
Sources stated the ordinance is prone to have vital bearing on the administration of the 2 UTs. “It will give the government access to a larger talent pool at a time it is trying to quicken the pace of development in the erstwhile state,” a senior Union authorities functionary stated.
Sources in J&Okay administration stated the transfer was additionally necessitated by paucity of officers in Ladakh. Since the area is harsh, most officers are unwilling to serve there.
Sub-Section (2) of Section 88 of the Act said that members of IAS, IPS and IFS cadres “for the existing State of Jammu and Kashmir, on and from the appointed day, shall continue to function on the existing cadres.”
Sub-section (4) had provision for allocation officers to J&Okay and Ladakh from the cadre. It said, “members of each services, currently borne on the Jammu and Kashmir cadre immediately before the appointed day shall be finally allocated between” the UTs of J&Okay and Ladakh “in such manner and with effect from such date or dates as the Central Government may, by order, specify” on the 2 L-Gs’ advice.
The ordinance has additionally made an addition in Section 13, inserting the phrases “or any other article containing reference to elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the State” after “in Article 239A”.
Section 13 says: “On and from the appointed day, the provisions contained in article 239A, which are applicable to “Union territory of Puducherry”, shall additionally apply to the “Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
