The Jammu and Kashmir Government has taken a step towards establishing a regularisation framework for eligible workers serving in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), adopting existing regulations governing Class-IV services in the Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations as the basis for developing a similar mechanism.
According to a government order issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department, the Jammu/Srinagar Municipal Corporation Class-IV Services (Special Provision) Regulations, 2014, will be applied mutatis mutandis, meaning with the necessary modifications, to frame a corresponding mechanism for eligible workers employed across Urban Local Bodies in Jammu and Kashmir.
The proposed framework is intended to cover several categories of workers, including Casual Labourers, Contingent Paid Workers, Consolidated Workers and others in similar employment positions. The move provides an established regulatory reference for the government to develop a mechanism addressing the regularisation of eligible personnel working in these categories.
By adopting the existing SMC/JMC regulations as a model, the administration aims to establish a similar approach for workers serving in urban local government institutions throughout the Union Territory. The order outlines the basis on which the mechanism is to be formulated, drawing on provisions already available for Class-IV employees in the Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations.
The sanction has been accorded by order of the Jammu and Kashmir Government through the Housing and Urban Development Department.
For workers who have spent years serving municipal institutions in temporary or other non-regular employment arrangements, the development could be significant. A clearly defined regularisation framework may help establish greater clarity about eligibility and the process that could apply to their employment status.
However, the adoption of these regulations as a framework should not automatically be interpreted as confirmation that every worker covered by the identified categories will receive regular employment. The final outcome will depend on the detailed mechanism, applicable eligibility conditions and any further government orders issued to implement the decision.
For now, the order marks an important administrative development for eligible Urban Local Body workers in Jammu and Kashmir. The next key step will be the formulation of the corresponding mechanism, which will determine how the existing regulations are applied to the workers concerned.
