Sharma’s appointment as JK PSC Chairman withdraw within hours

Srinagar : The Jammu and Kashmir Government revoked the appointment of BR Sharma, former Chief Secretary of J&K and presently Chairman of Staff Selection Commission (SSC), as the J&K Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman within hours . Sharma was granted two years extension as the SSC Chairman only on April 20 by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An order issued Tuesday this week by the General Administration Department (GAD) said the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has appointed BR Sharma as Chairman, Public Service Commission for J&K. He will hold the post till he attains the age of 62 years, the order said. However within hours the order was taken off from General Administration Department (GAD) office on which it was uploaded earlier. Highly placed sources told Kashmir Horizon names of a senior IAS officer, who is due for superannuation in next couple of months and a senior retired IPS officer are under consideration for appointment as Members of the J&K PSC. According to sources, Sharma had also not received the nod of Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), especially when he was posted as the SSC Chairman, which is the Nodal Agency for such clearances and is headed by Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Dr Jitendra Singh under overall supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “It was mandatory for Sharma to seek the DoPT nod before taking up any assignment in the Union Territory,” sources said. Sharma, who was due to retire on April 30, had been re-employed as the Chairman of Staff Selection Commission for two more years up to April 30, 2022 and the re-employment had been approved by the ACC.
“The UT Government issued order for appointment of Sharma as the J&KPSC Chairman without following due procedure like allowing the ACC to first name his successor and his relieving from the post as he had been appointed by the Prime Minister-headed Panel,” sources disclosed.