Fractured policy of extensions & re-employments

Though popular regimes in Jammu & Kashmir would always come in the thick of controversies over the extensions and re-employments of retired bureaucrats but despite public criticism popular government would always continue with the fractured policy of extensions and re-employments to rehabilitate their blue eyed retired bureaucrats. On the contrary the governors in absence of popular governments would mostly shoot down proposals for extensions and re-employments of retired bureaucrats for the purposes of curbing the practices of overstaffing and unwanted government spending. In many cases N N Vohra, the predecessor of the incumbent governor, cancelled the extensions and re-employments of many retired bureaucrats during the short spells of governor’s rules from 2008 to 2018 but during his more than 10 year long stint as governor of the state, Vohra saw successive popular governments offering extensions to several bureaucrats and re-employing many others time and again. Though the undeniable fact is that the proximity of the retired bureaucrats with the political parties in power in the state has been the sole criteria for post retirement extensions and re-employments of top bureaucrats during last twenty years but perhaps for the first time we are seeing governor of the state offering extensions to two top bureaucrats irrespective of the public criticism over their track record and way of working as district and divisional heads of civil and police administrations in the state.
Governor’s administration had won hearts of gullible Kashmiris by removing some top bureaucrats on charges of corruption recently but the good will generated by the governor’s decision has been washed away by the extensions in the services of two top bureaucrats irrespective of public criticism over their service track record and way of working as district and divisional heads of civil and police administrations in the state. Interestingly the orders issued for extensions in the services of two top bureaucrats mentioned that extensions were ordered in “Public Interest” but question can be asked that what can be the interpretation of “Public Interest” when the critical remarks against the extensions have gone viral on social media networking sites face book and twitter. The extensions to two top bureaucrats irrespective of public criticism on social networking sites shows that the very ideas of public interests and responsive administration is lost even now when the government is under the direct command and control of the incumbent BJP government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.