Examiner Bureau | Srinagar:
Jammu and Kashmir has 40,672 vacant posts under the direct recruitment quota across various government departments, including 13,834 vacancies that have remained unfilled for more than two years, the government has informed the Legislative Assembly.
The figures were disclosed in response to Starred Question No. 1/6/488 raised by MLA Devyani Rana during the ongoing sixth session of the J&K Legislative Assembly.
The vacancy position comprises 3,318 gazetted posts, 24,427 non-gazetted posts across Union Territory, divisional and district cadres, and 12,927 multi-tasking staff (MTS) posts.
The Health and Medical Education Department has the highest number of vacancies, with 12,797 posts lying vacant under the direct recruitment quota. These include 2,125 gazetted, 8,064 non-gazetted and 2,608 MTS positions.
The Agriculture Production Department, including Animal and Sheep Husbandry and Horticulture, has 4,939 vacancies, comprising 84 gazetted, 1,925 non-gazetted and 2,930 MTS posts.
Other departments with substantial vacancies include Housing and Urban Development with 2,741 posts, Public Works (R&B) with 2,190, Finance with 1,829, Industries and Commerce with 1,787, Forest, Ecology and Environment with 1,619, School Education with 1,364, Youth Services and Sports with 1,369, Power Development with 1,264, Revenue with 1,208 and Jal Shakti with 1,019 vacancies.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has 836 vacant posts, according to the government data.
The government said the vacancy figures include posts that have already been referred to recruiting agencies as well as vacancies advertised by those agencies for which the selection process is at different stages.
During the last two years, 2,150 posts were referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC). These included 794 posts from Health and Medical Education, 286 from Higher Education, 594 from School Education, 183 from Animal and Sheep Husbandry, 170 from the General Administration Department and 67 from Home.
A further 17,902 posts were referred to the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) during 2024 and 2025.
Of these, departments referred 11,562 posts to JKSSB in 2024, with the Home Department accounting for 9,360 posts. Health and Medical Education referred 462 posts, followed by Jal Shakti with 314, Power Development with 292 and Public Works (R&B) with 177.
In 2025, 6,340 posts were referred to JKSSB. Home accounted for 2,766 posts, followed by Finance with 1,217, Health and Medical Education with 610, General Administration with 569 and Jal Shakti with 367.
The government said JKPSC advertised 2,128 posts during the last two years, while JKSSB advertised 10,313 posts.
JKSSB’s 2024 advertisements included 4,002 posts under Advertisement No. 01 of 2024, issued on July 16, and another 669 posts under Advertisement No. 02 of 2024, issued on November 22.
In 2025, the board issued 15 advertisements covering 5,642 posts. The largest advertisement covered 1,815 posts and was issued on December 24, followed by advertisements for 621 posts on July 29 and 600 posts on November 24.
The government also provided details of selections made by JKPSC and JKSSB.
According to the data, the two recruiting agencies made 5,653 selections in 2024, 761 in 2025 and 5,051 between January 1 and June 30, 2026, taking the combined number of selections to 11,465 during the period covered by the figures.
In 2024, Rural Development recorded the highest number of selections at 1,395, followed by Home with 1,223, Finance with 1,053 and Public Works (R&B) with 1,045. Agriculture/Animal and Sheep Husbandry accounted for 376 selections, Jal Shakti 278 and Health and Medical Education 129.
In 2025, Social Welfare recorded 186 selections, followed by Revenue with 142, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj with 122, Agriculture Production and Farmers’ Welfare with 71, Forest, Ecology and Environment with 76 and Health and Medical Education with 48.
During the first six months of 2026, Home accounted for 4,020 selections, followed by Jal Shakti with 358, Power Development with 292, Public Works (R&B) with 150 and Animal and Sheep Husbandry with 52.
The government attributed the 13,834 vacancies pending for more than two years to several factors, including amendments and revisions to recruitment rules, departmental restructuring, court cases and other administrative and procedural requirements.
To address delays, the government said a time-bound mechanism has been established under which administrative departments are required to assess direct-recruitment vacancies and refer clear vacancies to the recruiting agencies every March.
The JKPSC and JKSSB publish annual examination calendars in advance. The government said both agencies had issued their calendars for 2026 and had been directed to complete selection processes expeditiously once vacancies are referred by the departments.
The status of vacancies, referrals, examinations and pending selections is also reviewed periodically at the highest level, the government said, to monitor progress and address delays.
The vacancy data covers posts across Union Territory, divisional and district cadres and includes both gazetted and non-gazetted positions as well as MTS posts.
