Jammu, Feb 17: The Jammu and Kashmir government has informed the Legislative Assembly that 1,00,501 casual and daily rated workers have been registered across departments through Aadhaar based biometric authentication and skill profiling.
The disclosure came in a written reply during the ongoing Assembly session to starred questions concerning the regularisation of workers engaged for more than two decades.
According to the official data tabled in the House, the registered workforce comprises 69,696 casual labourers, 8,534 seasonal labourers, 8,836 daily-rated and work-charged employees, 3,092 part-time workers, 156 CIC operators, 5,757 NYC hamals and drivers in the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, 1,929 individuals engaged under the Hospital Development Fund, 2,153 part-time sweepers and 348 settlement assistants in the Revenue Department.
Division-wise figures show that 57,390 workers are from the Kashmir region, while 40,077 belong to the Jammu division.
Departmentally, the highest concentration of such engagements is in the PHE/I&FC sector with 38,585 workers, followed by the Power Development Department (13,616), Education (12,646), Forest (8,317) and Public Works (R&B) (6,801).
The government further stated that a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary has been constituted under Government Order No. 384-JK(GAD) of 2025 dated March 19, 2025, to examine the issue of regularisation. The panel has been tasked with reviewing service categories, applicable rules, financial implications and legal aspects before suggesting a comprehensive roadmap.
It was clarified that the matter involves constitutional compliance, judicial precedents and fiscal considerations. The government said further action will be taken once the committee submits its recommendations within the established legal and financial framework.