SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department has reportedly not convened a gazetted-level Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) for more than four decades, leaving only four gazetted officers currently in service and raising serious concerns over administrative delays and cadre management.
Departmental sources and records indicate that the last gazetted DPC was held around 1983–84. Since then, dozens of officers who served as Incharge Tourist Officers and Incharge Assistant Directors are understood to have retired from the same positions without formal promotions, despite discharging higher responsibilities for years on an “in-charge, own pay and grade” basis.
Officials familiar with the matter said attempts to initiate promotion exercises were made during 2010–12, again between 2019 and 2023, and most recently through a committee constituted under Government Order No. 54-JK (TSM) of July 21, 2025. However, the processes were reportedly left incomplete, and the panel is yet to convene its first meeting.
The issue has also acquired a legal dimension, with sources stating that the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had directed the department to take action regarding promotions and convene the DPC. Contempt proceedings were reportedly initiated following alleged non-compliance with the tribunal’s directions.
Observers note that the prolonged absence of promotions has led to widespread career stagnation, with many officers promoted on an in-charge basis between the 1990s and 2020 retiring without regularisation despite seniority lists being finalised multiple times. Administrative experts describe such long-term stagnation as highly unusual in modern governance systems, particularly in departments considered key to economic development.
The delay has drawn sharper attention amid wider governance reforms across Jammu and Kashmir aimed at clearing promotion backlogs and introducing online DPC monitoring systems for greater transparency. While several departments have moved to resolve long-pending cases through the Public Service Commission, similar progress in the Tourism Department has yet to materialise.
Governance analysts warn that continued reliance on ad hoc arrangements risks creating leadership gaps and weakening institutional capacity in a sector that plays a central role in the Union Territory’s economy, underscoring the need for early corrective action.
