At a time when the J&K government is emphasising the need to empower grass roots governance, a large-scale illegal appointment racket has been exposed in its flagship Urban Local Bodies Department that overlooks the functioning of 83 muncipal bodies across the state. The department has made more than 1,500 illegal appointments, almost doubling the number of employees. The result: funds raised from local tax collection, devolution funds from the state’s revenue and developmental grants are now exclusively utilised to pay salaries.