KINS Desk
Srinagar, April 11 (KINS): While Covid-19 has brought immense fear across the J&K, it has also forced the Lieutenant Governor G C Murmu led administration here in Jammu and Kashmir to keep Civil Secretariat functional in both capitals—Srinagar and Jammu.
There has been a long yearning to see Kashmir doesn’t become the victim of bureaucratic mindset since past many decades, with people complaining that in the winter months, Kashmir and its people are left to suffer while officers and politicians enjoy in cozy rooms of Jammu region.
The function of civil secretariat in both the capitals is for the first time since Maharaja Hari Singh started the practice of shifting the seat of governance to Jammu for six months when Kashmir would witness harsh winter months. The then ruler would stay in Kashmir for six months, when Jammu would witness hot summer.
In a significant order issued by the General Administration Department (GAD), on April 10, it was decided that the Civil Secretariat in Jammu will continue to remain functional while as at the same time Civil Secretariat in Srinagar will re-open on May 4. The Jammu Civil Secretariat will remain open till June 15
According to the order, all offices in J&K highest’s seat of power, civil secretariat, and other 100 offices will remain functional in both the capital cities during this period. The move employees shall work on” as is where is” basis i.e. Kashmir -based staff shall work from Srinagar and Jammu- based staff from Jammu.
The government has directed administrative secretaries and departments with single Head of Department (HOD) to ensure their functionality in their respective departments, both at Srinagar and Jammu. The government order is silent on the practice of shifting records from civil secretariat Jammu to Srinagar in the last week of April every year. This has evoked a response from former chief minister Omar Abdullah too. Omar wrote on his twitter handle: “what will officers do in Civil Secretariat Srinagar without files.”
As per the practice, the civil secretariat and all other important offices of J&K would function from May to October in Srinagar. These offices would function in Jammu from November to April. The civil secretariat would shut in Jammu in last week of April and re-open in Srinagar in first week of May.
In 1987, the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah-led government had constituted a committee to suggest how to do away with the practice of Darbar Move. In 2012, the then Chief Minister Omar Abdullah questioned the wisdom of Darbar Move, by terming it as wastage of money. However, there was no headway and instead the practice continued. (KINS)
