JAMMU: The State Administrative Council (SAC) which met here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Governor N.N Vohra approved the proposal submitted by the General Administration Department (GAD) to increase the cadre strength of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service from the existing 408 Senior Duty posts to 552 posts. The decision to review the KAS cadre was taken by the SAC in its last meeting on 31st March, 2016 while approving the cadre review of IAS (J&K Cadre).
As on 1st December, 2008, when the authorised cadre strength of the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service was last notified, the number of Senior Duty posts was 408. Various posts were since then created warranting their addition to the cadre, mandated under Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) Rules, 2008. The KAS Rules provide for a periodic review of the cadre of KAS, to be carried out after every five years.
Based on the exercise carried out by the General Administration Department, which was earlier considered by the Establishment-cum-Selection Committee and the Cabinet Sub-Committee, the proposed enhancement in the authorized cadre strength from the existing 408 Senior Duty posts to 552 posts was placed before the State Administrative Council in the meeting held on Saturday.
The proposal not only envisages addition of the already created posts to the cadre but also creation of 39 Senior Duty posts and 69 Training Reserve posts at the Junior level.
With this increase, the functional requirement of the different departments would be satisfactorily met which will help in providing good governance besides providing adequate career progression prospects to the State Civil Services Officers and the officers of different departments for their induction into KAS.
The decision taken by the SAC to approve the proposals regarding IAS and KAS cadre review is significant as the same was overdue besides being a long pending demand of the KAS officers. This would not only enhance the career progression prospects of the officers, like promotion to the different scales in the KAS and induction into IAS but also pave the way for manning key positions by them.