The Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) has said the entire official record for 32 years pertaining to the direct recruitment section was destroyed beyond recognition due to floods in September 2014.
“Due to the devastating floods, the old record at the JKPSC office in Polo Ground/Solina got submerged in the floodwaters and remained submerged for more than three weeks. The entire old record pertaining to the direct recruitment section from 1980 to 2012 was destroyed or damaged beyond recognition,” said Shakeel-ul-Rehman, Secretary, JKPSC, in a notification.
The issue has raised eyebrows as the state government claims to have been making strides in information technology and developing a modern, comprehensive and transparent record management system involving the use of information technology.
“We suspect that something has gone wrong somewhere and the commission has taken the plea of damage to official record to conceal its misdeeds. There should be a judicial inquiry to ascertain the extent of damage to official record. We are living in the 21st century and it is hard to believe that the entire old record got damaged in the floods. It is unacceptable,” said Raman Sharma, an RTI activist.
He said it had become the norm in every government department in the state to hide its misdeeds by declaring that the official record was damaged in the floods.
The JKPSC is a constitutional body that regulates the recruitment of gazetted officers in various government departments. It was established under Section 128 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir on September 2, 1957.
It is entrusted with the task of conducting examinations for appointment to state services and selecting “most capable and deserving” persons for manning the civil services and posts.
Earlier, the Directorate of School Education Kashmir had said its official record, particularly files containing information about granting recognition to private schools across the Valley, got damaged in the 2014 floods.
Recruitment records of 32 years destroyed in 2014 floods: JKPSC
