By: Farooq Sopori
Srinagar: In a significant development, the union government has notified new domicile rules for Jammu & Kashmir, which grants permanent residentship of the erstwhile state to people of certain categories who live here for 15 years and opens gazetted and non-gazetted government jobs to citizens from all other states.
In an order, which has been called the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of
State Laws) Order, 2020, and comes into force with immediate effect, Section 3A of the J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order 2020, under the J&K civil services (decentralisation and recruitment) Act, has been introduced to define domicile as that “who has resided for a period of fifteen years in the UT of J&K or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in class 10th/12th examination in an educational institution located in the UT of J&K.”
The definition expands to include “children of those central government officials, all India services officers, officials of PSUs and autonomous body of central government, public sector banks, officials of statutory bodies, officials of central universities and recognised research institutes of central government who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years or children on parents who fulfil any of the conditions in sections.”
State Service Selection Board re-designated as Service Selection Board:
According to the new rules, the State Service Selection Board has been redesignated as Service Selection Board, omitting the word state.
Rules for low-level non-gazetted jobs
Under the new law, jobs up to the lowest level of non-gazetted rank have been “reserved” for all those who have resided in the erstwhile state for a period of 15 years and children of all central government employees who have served for 10-year period in the UT.
“Subject to the provisions of this Act, no person shall be eligible for appointment to a post carrying a pay scale of not more than Level-4 (25500) unless he is a domicile of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” reads section 5A of The Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralization and Recruitment) Act.
Rules for non-gazetted and gazetted posts:
All Indian citizens, including J&K domiciles, would be eligible for remaining non-gazetted and gazetted posts. Before August 5, all jobs in erstwhile state of J&K were exclusively reserved for permanent residents of the State.
Under the law, the domiciles have been defined as those who have resided for a period of 15 years in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or have studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th /12th examination in an educational institutions located in J&K.
The law has empowered Tehsildars within their territorial jurisdiction to issue domicile certificates The government of J&K UT has also been empowered to notify any other officer to be Competent Authority for issuance of domicile certificate.
According to the Union Gazette Notification, a copy of which is with Ziraat Times, Domicile for purposes of appointment to any service in Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been defined as:
Any person who fulfils the following conditions shall be deemed to be a domicile of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the purposes of appointment to any post carrying a pay scale of not more than Level-4 (25500) under the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or under a local or other authority (other than cantonment board) within the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir:-
(a) who has resided for a period of fifteen years in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or has studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th /12th examination in an educational institution located in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir; or
(b) who is registered as a migrant by the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Further, following persons shall be deemed to be domicile under sub-section (1) :
(a) children of those Central Government Officials, All India Services Officers, Officials of Public Sector Undertaking and Autonomous body of Central Government, Public Sector Banks,
Officials of Statutory bodies, Officials of Central Universities and recognised Research institutes of Central Government who have served in Jammu and Kashmir for a total period of ten years; or
(b) children of parents who fulfil any of the conditions in sub-section (1); or
(c) children of such residents of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir as reside outside Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in connection with their employment or business or other professional or vocational reasons but their parents fulfil any of the conditions provided in sub-section (1).