SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Government on Tuesday said it has no proposal to abolish job test fees, revealing that ₹31.75 crore has been collected from applicants by recruitment agencies over the past year.
Responding in writing to a question by Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Gani Lone, the Minister in-charge of the General Administration Department (GAD) informed the House that the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) together collected ₹31,75,32,400 as application fees.
The Minister clarified that there was no plan under consideration to waive off job test fees, adding that the charges were essential to meet the administrative and operational expenses of conducting examinations.
“The application fee charged by recruiting agencies is meant to cover costs related to advertisement, processing of applications, printing of examination materials, deployment of manpower, infrastructure, and technological arrangements to ensure transparency and efficiency in recruitment,” the Minister stated.
He further said the fee structure remains reasonable and comparable with what is charged by other government recruiting agencies across India.
Meanwhile, taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Peoples Conference President Sajad Gani Lone criticized the government, accusing it of reneging on election promises.
“In its election manifesto, the JKNC promised to waive off application fees for recruitment agencies like SSRB and JKPSC. I asked a question to find out whether that promise had been fulfilled,” Lone posted.
“The Minister in-charge of GAD – who is also the Chief Minister – informed the House that ₹31 crore had been collected since the government came to power in October last year. This ₹31 crore reflects one of many broken promises and a trail of lies and deceit. Please, for once, can they admit that they lied – and apologise?” Lone added.
