IAS and IPS officers belonging to the AGMUT cadre and serving in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will henceforth be considered as being posted in “hard areas”.

According to an official communication, the Centre has modified the guidelines for the transfer and posting of IAS and IPS officers of the joint Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre.

The Jammu and Kashmir cadre was merged with the AGMUT cadre in January 2021 as a consequence of the bifurcation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — on August 5, 2019.

“Consequent upon the merger of the J&K cadre into AGMUT cadre, the matter has been examined and with the approval of competent authority, it has been decided that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh may be categorised as Category B (Hard Areas) in the Joint AGMUT Cadre,” the Union home ministry communication said.

In the modified guidelines, posting and transfer of officers from the AGMUT cadre have been classified into two categories, regular and hard areas.

Delhi, Chandigarh, Goa, Puducherry, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will be considered as “regular areas” or Category A, while Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh will be considered as “hard areas” or Category B.