SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has recorded the particulars of 1,00,501 casual, seasonal, daily-rated and other temporary workers engaged across government departments and institutions, but the committee examining their regularisation has not fixed a timeline for recommending a policy.
The General Administration Department disclosed the figures in its reply to a Legislative Assembly question by MLA Sunil Kumar Sharma on the regularisation of daily wagers.
The workers were registered through an Aadhaar-based biometric identification and skill-profiling exercise, covering different categories of temporary and non-regular manpower.
The Government constituted a committee through Government Order No. 384-JK(GAD) of 2025 dated March 29, 2025 to examine the status of casual, seasonal, temporary, contractual and need-based workers engaged across departments.
The committee is examining the nature and duration of engagements, mode of appointment, eligibility of workers, availability of sanctioned posts, recruitment rules, financial implications and the legal framework governing regularisation.
The Government said any policy would also have to take into account judicial pronouncements, statutory provisions and applicable recruitment rules, besides the financial implications of regularising the different categories of workers.
Department-wise, Public Works (R&B) has the largest number of registered workers at 38,585, followed by Power Development and related entities at 13,616 and Education at 12,646.
Other departments with substantial numbers include Rural Development with 5,662 workers, Health and Medical Education 4,868, Agriculture 4,776, and Animal Husbandry, Sheep Husbandry and Fisheries 2,170.
The registered workforce includes several categories beyond conventional daily-rated workers. Casual labourers account for 69,696 of the total, while 8,534 are classified as seasonal workers and 8,836 as daily-rated workers/work-charged employees.
The remaining categories include part-time workers, CIC operators, NYC/Hamal/Drivers associated with Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Hospital Development Fund workers, part-time sweepers and other personnel.
At the district level, Jammu has the highest number of registered workers at 13,425, followed by Srinagar with 11,825 and Anantnag with 8,823. Baramulla accounts for 7,774, while Budgam has 5,772, Pulwama 5,651, Kupwara 5,547 and Rajouri 5,191.
On wages and other dues, the Government said departments engaged workers according to operational requirements and programme guidelines. It said wages were being paid in accordance with the applicable terms, with daily-rated and casual seasonal workers being paid according to the minimum wages notified by the Government.
Funds have also been released to the concerned departments for the current financial year to facilitate payment of wages, the Government said.
However, the reply did not specify when a final decision on regularisation would be taken.
The department said the matter remained under active consideration and that efforts were being made to complete the examination and consultations at the earliest. It said a fixed timeframe could not be indicated at present because of the different categories involved and the legal, administrative and financial implications of any regularisation policy.
Any final decision, according to the Government, will follow examination of the relevant issues and inputs from concerned departments and authorities, within the applicable legal and constitutional framework and with consideration to fairness, transparency and financial sustainability.
