Srinagar, Mar 06: The Rural development department is facing huge manpower crunch in Kashmir Valley as 43 posts of block development officers are lying vacant in the region.
Details collected by news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) reveal that 39 block development offices in Kashmir Valley are lying headless, promoting the authorities to give their charge to other officers holding such positions.
The dearth of manpower at the block level is affecting functioning of the department in the region having massive rural population.
The data reveals that there are 137 block development offices and seven BDO headquarter positions in Kashmir division
According to details, among seven BDO headquarter positions, four are lying vacant-one each in Srinagar, Kupwara, Baramulla and Anantnag districts.
As on January 29, 2021, according to data, as many as 38 out of 137 block development offices were lying headless in Kashmir division. The figure reached to 39 after 48-year-old officer identified as Saleem Ahmad Darzi died due to heart attack on February 26, 2021 in Tulail area of Bandipora.
Among five block development offices in Srinagar district, three are lying headless, while BDO Khonmoh and DPO Srinagar are holding the additional charge of the vacant positions.
Seven block offices are lying headless in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district while three such vacancies exist in Kulgam.
According to data, three block offices are also lying headless in Ganderbal, prompting the authorities to additional charges to equal number of officers manning similar positions in other parts of the district.
Seven blocks of rural development are without BDOs in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district which has massive rural population.
In Bandipora and Budgam districts, four bock offices each are without BDOs, affecting functioning of the department and implementation of different schemes—(KNO)
