Though a row over new job notification issued for several hundred posts of banking associates and probationary officers after cancellation of previous recruitment process for the same posts under the Satya Pal Mailik led governor’s administration of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir state is yet to end as the case is pending final disposal in the Jammu & Kashmir high court, the Chairman-Cum-Managing Director of the bank R K Chibber has courted yet another controversy by announcing an exclusive recruitment drive for the aspirants of Ladhak Union Territory after a one day shutdown in Ladhak region against the bank’s decision to declare Ladhak aspirants ineligible for the general recruitment process . Needlessly the Ladhak aspirants have been declared ineligible for the general recruitment process and after a one day shutdown call in entire Ladhak region the CMD of the bank has surprisingly announced an exclusive recruitment drive for the aspirants of Ladhak region. When Mr Chibber and the G C Murmu led Jammu & Kashmir Government though know it very well that even nationalized banks don’t carry out any recruitment drive exclusively for any particular state or union territory, administrative wisdom demands that aspirants of Ladhak region too should have been declared eligible for the general recruitment process by issuing a supplementary job notification. The decision to hold exclusive recruitment drive for Ladhak aspirants goes against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s own slogan of “equal opportunities for all” in Jammu and Kashmir and by all standards of understandabilities is an attempt of the JK Bank’s incumbent CMD to appease top helmsmen in both G C Murmu led J&K Government and as well as the incumbent central government. Interestingly the Government after creating two parallel powers centres by creating an independent position of Managing Director in the Jammu & Kashmir bank has gifted three year long post retirement extension to R K Chibber as Chairman of the bank but on the contrary Zubair Iqbal formally appointed Managing Director of the bank in May this year is yet to assume charge as he continues to wait for the mandatory clearances from several key institutions of the central government for last about two and a half months.
Though the move to announce exclusive recruitment drive for Ladhak aspirants is flagrant violation of banking norms, but there is no dead end to messy recruitment process at the Jammu & Kashmir once called a premier financial institution of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.
Delay in the clearances for Zubair Iqbal for about two and a half months is also obviously an attempt to give R K Chibber a free hand in messing up the already messed up recruitment in Jammu & Kashmir Bank amid a legal challenge thrown to the fresh selection process to be carried out by the same Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) which conducted the previous recruitment process subsequently scrapped by the G C Murmu led Jammu & Kashmir Government and as well as the incumbent Bank CMD R K Chibber. Though the move to announce exclusive recruitment drive for Ladhak aspirants is flagrant violation of banking norms, but there is no dead end to messy recruitment process at the Jammu & Kashmir once called a premier financial institution of the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state.
