Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government is planning to bring more departments under the newly-formed Kerala Administrative Service (KAS). According to officials, second gazetted posts, except technical ones, would come under KAS soon.

During the initial stage, second gazetted posts in 29 government departments were set apart for KAS and as many 105 vacancies will be filled soon. As a result, new vacancies in this cadre would arise only in eight to ten years, after the promotion of these KAS officers. "It is in this backdrop that the government has plans to include more departments under KAS," said an official.

The final decision would be taken only after discussions with the service organisations as they have pointed out that the promotion opportunities of existing staff would be affected if more departments are brought under KAS. To overcome this issue, additional posts may have to be created. However, this is impractical, considering the financial crunch faced by the state.

At the same time, top officials have suggested inclusion of all departments under KAS to attract efficient middle-level officers. Another proposal before the government says appointments to KAS should be done solely based on merit as it is a feeder of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).