Avinash Azad
In a shocking revelation that exposes the administrative paralysis within Jammu and Kashmir’s development machinery, the government on Monday admitted on the floor of the Assembly that 1,586 engineering posts — both gazetted and non-gazetted — are lying vacant across the Public Works (R&B) Department and other allied departments.
The disclosure came in response to a question raised by MLA Mir Mohammad Fayaz, who sought details of the sanctioned and vacant engineering positions across key infrastructure departments.
According to the official reply, the government revealed that 344 posts in the gazetted cadre and 1,242 posts in the non-gazetted cadre remain unfilled, even as the department continues to shoulder the responsibility of executing multiple large-scale projects worth hundreds of crores.
The revelation has sent shockwaves through political and bureaucratic circles, highlighting the huge manpower crisis in one of the UT’s most critical departments responsible for road, bridge, and building infrastructure. Despite the acute staff shortage, the government admitted that massive works are underway, including:
Cities & Town projects worth ₹422.50 crore (ongoing),
PMGSY (Cities & Town) projects worth ₹83.33 crore,
UT Capex Road Sector projects worth ₹250.60 crore (ongoing), and
New UT Capex projects worth ₹93.97 crore. Observers say the contradiction is glaring — billions of rupees sanctioned for infrastructure, but without the engineers needed to plan, supervise, and execute them. A senior official in the R&B Department, speaking anonymously, told The Hidden News that the shortage has reached “a crisis point.” “Hundreds of sub-divisions and project units are operating without qualified engineers. Many divisions are being run on temporary or stop-gap arrangements. This affects not only the speed but also the quality of works,” the official said.
Opposition leaders and experts have slammed the government for allowing such an administrative vacuum to persist despite repeated Assembly assurances. “On one hand, the government announces mega developmental plans and boasts of Smart City and road connectivity projects; on the other, it doesn’t even have the staff to implement them. This is a governance failure in broad daylight,” said a senior political observer.
The disclosure also comes at a time when thousands of qualified engineering graduates in Jammu and Kashmir remain unemployed, many waiting years for recruitment drives that are either delayed or canceled. “The irony is painful — crores worth of projects sanctioned, engineers jobless, and the department empty,” said an engineer’s association representative. “This is how corruption, delays, and substandard works creep into the system.”
The issue has reignited debate over the urgent need for recruitment reforms and strengthening of technical manpower across public departments. With over ₹850 crore worth of projects in progress, experts warn that continued staff shortages could stall or compromise ongoing developmental works.
As the government admits to this massive dearth of engineers, all eyes are now on whether it will act swiftly to fill the vacancies — or let J&K’s critical infrastructure sector continue to crumble under bureaucratic neglect and hollow announcements.
