Kashmir revokes stipendiary recruitment policy

The Jammu and Kashmir government Wednesday revoked its controversial stipendiary recruitment policy following feedback gathered by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on his party's debacle in the Lok Sabha election.

The cabinet met here Wednesday under the chairmanship of Abdullah and revoked the government order issued in 2011 that prescribed a fixed salary mode for the recruitment of Class III, Class IV and other non-gazetted staff in the state.

The order prescribed one-third of the actual salary to government employees for the first five years of service.

The state finance department was asked to work out proposals relating to the revocation of the fixed salary mode and the restoration of the pre-existing salary mode for these categories and other terms and conditions of employment.

Abdullah recently said that feedback gathered through e-mail from people suggested that the decision to pay one-third salary to people recruited in state government service was one of the reasons for the National Conference's debacle in the national elections.

The party lost all three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley to the rival Peoples Democratic Party.