SRINAGAR: BJP MLA Pawan Kumar has introduced a private member’s bill in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly seeking the revival of compassionate appointments, a long-standing practice that has largely ceased in recent years. The proposed legislation, The Jammu and Kashmir Compassionate Appointment (Revival and Regulation) Bill, 2024, seeks to provide government jobs to the next of kin of government employees who die in service or are killed due to militant violence.
The bill, which spans five pages, refers to the absence of a clear framework in recent years for extending compassionate appointments, despite its earlier use across departments. Kumar’s draft cites that the practice served as an institutional mechanism to provide immediate financial and social support to families who lose their earning members either to natural causes while in service or to acts of militancy while performing official duties.
According to the bill, any dependent family member of a deceased government employee—including spouse, unmarried sons or daughters, and legally dependent siblings—should be eligible for appointment in a non-gazetted post under the government, subject to eligibility and qualification. The bill outlines that the appointment must be made within one year of the employee’s death, with departments required to maintain monthly records of pending and processed cases. Kumar proposes that these appointments be carried out through a notified authority, and all decisions be subject to audit and administrative review.
The bill also includes provisions for appointments to the kin of police, civil administration, and other uniformed personnel killed in militant incidents, stating that the threat faced by government servants in such roles must be recognised as a public risk, with due compensation through state policy.
The justification attached to the bill notes that while compassionate appointments had long been a part of service rules and departmental procedures in Jammu and Kashmir, the system has gradually declined due to administrative inertia and lack of clear regulation. It states that this has left many bereaved families without any form of institutional support at a critical time. The bill aims to make such appointments both time-bound and accountable.
Though the government has made statements in the past about exploring alternative welfare mechanisms, including ex gratia relief and insurance, no comprehensive substitute has been put in place for direct appointment to support affected families. Kumar’s bill is likely to find resonance among legislators across party lines, particularly those from rural and conflict-affected constituencies, where many such cases remain unresolved.
Earlier in the day, the government, in a written reply during Question Hour, revealed that as on March 1, 2025, a total of 928 cases under SRO-43 of 1994 and 1,279 applications under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme were pending across administrative departments in the Union territory. The government stated that during 2024, it had approved 1,116 SRO-43 cases, and the process of finalising the remaining is underway. It further added that all pending applications under the Rehabilitation Assistance Scheme have been forwarded to the concerned departments for expeditious disposal.
