30,000 vacancies to be filled this year: CM

Jammu, Feb 20: The Jammu and Kashmir government will fill more than 30,000 vacancies across departments during the current year, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told the Legislative Assembly on Friday.
Responding to questions during the Budget Session, Abdullah, said systems are in place to periodically assess vacant posts and refer them to the appropriate recruiting agencies. The vacancies, he said, have arisen due to retirements, promotions, resignations and other administrative reasons.
He said the government has taken steps such as advance identification of posts and streamlining of procedures to ensure that essential services are not disrupted. The reply came in response to a question by Prof Gharu Ram Bhagat.
In a separate response on power tariffs, the Chief Minister said there has been no revision in electricity rates since December 2023. He informed the House that billing in metered areas is based on actual consumption, while consumers in non-metered areas are charged on a flat-rate basis linked to the sanctioned load.
Abdullah said tariff determination falls within the jurisdiction of the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission and is fixed as per its parameters. He added that Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses are not being passed on to consumers. The clarification came while replying to a supplementary question from Dr Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri.
On tourism infrastructure, CM Omar said three projects have been completed in the Ramgarh constituency, and another is in progress under the Capex Budget at a total cost of Rs 307.12 lakh. He was responding to a query from Dr Devinder Kumar Manyal, raised on his behalf by Surjeet Singh Slathia. He said new proposals for the constituency would be considered in 2026-27, subject to feasibility and availability of funds.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the tourism portfolio, informed the House that works worth Rs 123.41 lakh at Sidh Goria Temple, including beautification, parking and pond development, have been completed. A separate project worth Rs 100 lakh at Baba Chamlyal Shrine has also been finished.
On power infrastructure, Omar said a 6.3 MVA receiving station at Qamar (Dudwagan) is under execution to improve supply in the Upper Kapran belt, with commissioning targeted for June 2026, subject to saturation of smart metering. He said Rs 293.44 lakh has been spent so far against a revised cost of Rs 427.63 lakh, adding that delays were caused mainly due to right-of-way issues in laying transmission lines. (KNO)