SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has 40,672 vacant posts under the direct recruitment quota across various government departments, with 13,834 of these vacancies having remained unfilled for more than two years, the government has told the Legislative Assembly.
The figures were disclosed in response to Starred Question No. 1/6/488 tabled by MLA Devyani Rana during the ongoing sixth session of the J&K Legislative Assembly.
The vacancy position shows 3,318 vacant gazetted posts, 24,427 vacant non-gazetted posts across Union Territory, division and district cadres, and 12,927 vacant posts in the multi-tasking staff category.
The Health and Medical Education Department has the largest number of vacancies, with 12,797 posts lying vacant under the direct recruitment quota, including 2,125 gazetted, 8,064 non-gazetted and 2,608 MTS posts.
Agriculture Production, including Animal and Sheep Husbandry and Horticulture, has 4,939 vacancies, comprising 84 gazetted, 1,925 non-gazetted and 2,930 MTS posts.
Forest, Ecology and Environment has 1,619 vacancies, including 31 gazetted and 1,588 non-gazetted posts, while Finance has 1,829 vacancies, comprising 125 gazetted, 1,565 non-gazetted and 139 MTS posts.
Housing and Urban Development has 2,741 vacant posts, including 30 gazetted, 801 non-gazetted and 1,910 MTS positions.
Other major vacancy positions include Industries and Commerce with 1,787 posts, Youth Services and Sports with 1,369, Public Works (R&B) with 2,190, Power Development with 1,264, Jal Shakti with 1,019, Revenue with 1,208, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj with 836, and School Education with 1,364.
The government said the direct recruitment figures include posts already referred to recruiting agencies as well as vacancies advertised by those agencies for which selection processes are at different stages.
During the last two years, 2,150 posts were referred to the J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC). These included 794 posts from Health and Medical Education, 286 from Higher Education, 594 from School Education, 183 from Animal and Sheep Husbandry, 170 from the General Administration Department and 67 from Home.
A further 17,902 posts were referred to the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) during 2024 and 2025.
In 2024, departments referred 11,562 posts to JKSSB. The Home Department accounted for 9,360 of these, followed by Health and Medical Education with 462, Jal Shakti with 314, Power Development with 292 and Public Works with 177.
In 2025, 6,340 posts were referred to JKSSB. Home accounted for 2,766 posts, Finance 1,217, Health and Medical Education 610, General Administration 569 and Jal Shakti 367.
The government said JKPSC advertised 2,128 posts during the last two years, while JKSSB advertised 10,313 posts.
JKSSB’s advertisements included 4,002 posts through Advertisement No. 01 of 2024 issued on July 16, 2024, and 669 posts through Advertisement No. 02 of 2024 issued on November 22, 2024.
In 2025, JKSSB issued 15 advertisements covering 5,642 posts, with the largest advertisement being for 1,815 posts issued on December 24, followed by 621 posts advertised on July 29 and 600 posts on November 24.
The government also provided figures for selections made by the two recruiting agencies.
According to the data, 5,653 selections were made during calendar year 2024 and 761 during 2025, while another 5,051 selections were made between January 1 and June 30, 2026, taking the combined number to 11,465.
The 2024 selections included 1,395 in Rural Development, 1,223 in Home, 1,053 in Finance, 1,045 in Public Works (R&B), 376 in Agriculture/Animal and Sheep Husbandry, 278 in Jal Shakti and 129 in Health and Medical Education.
In 2025, Social Welfare recorded 186 selections, Revenue 142, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj 122, Agriculture Production and Farmers’ Welfare 71, Forest, Ecology and Environment 76 and Health and Medical Education 48.
During the first six months of 2026, Home accounted for 4,020 selections, followed by Jal Shakti with 358, Public Works (R&B) with 150, Power Development with 292 and Animal and Sheep Husbandry with 52.
The government said the 13,834 vacancies that had remained unfilled for more than two years had accumulated due to several factors, including amendments and revisions to recruitment rules, restructuring of departments, court cases and other administrative and procedural requirements.
On filling the remaining vacancies, the government said it had established a time-bound mechanism under which administrative departments are required to assess vacancies falling under direct recruitment and refer clear vacancies to the recruiting agencies in March every year.
JKPSC and JKSSB publish annual examination calendars in advance, the government said, adding that both agencies had issued their calendars for 2026 and had been directed to complete selection processes expeditiously once vacancies are referred by the departments.
The government further said the status of vacancies, referrals, examinations and pending selections is reviewed periodically at the highest level to monitor progress and address delays.
The vacancy figures cover a wide range of departments and cadres and include posts at Union Territory, divisional and district levels, besides MTS positions.
