Administration cancels 2159 accommodations to Move employees
1696 Flats/Kothis to be vacated at Jammu by Kashmir’s officials
463 Flats/Units to be vacated at Srinagar by Jammu’s Officials
Northlines Correspondent
Jammu Tawi, June 30:
The 149-year-old biannual tradition of shifting capitals between Srinagar and Jammu, by moving the thousands of Officers & employees and tens of thousands of official files physically in trucks on the treacherous Jammu-Srinagar highway, seemingly came to an end on Wednesday. The administration served notice to employees to vacate the ‘Darbar Move’ related accommodations in three weeks in Jammu and Srinagar.
An order issued by Commissioner Secretary, Estates Department, M Raju said sanction had been accorded to the cancellation of allotment of residential accommodation of officers and officials in Srinagar and Jammu.
“Cancellation of allotment of residential accommodation of officers/officials at Srinagar who are stationed at Jammu, and at Jammu, who are stationed at Srinagar. Employees shall vacate their government residential accommodation under occupation within 21 days from the date of issuance of this order” reads the order of the J&K Estates Department.
The order enclosed two lists of 2159 accommodations allotted to the Darbar Move employees – 1696 at Jammu allotted and retained by the employees from Kashmir and 493 dwelling units at Srinagar allotted and retained by the employees from Jammu.
In the meanwhile, Darbar Move Employees Federation (DMEF) has urged the Chief Secretary to extend vacation time from 21 days to 3 months in view of hardships and the forthcoming Eid festival. The DMEF also demanded Packing and Travel allowances to the employee for vacating the accommodations.
Employees from Jammu had been allotted residential accommodation in Srinagar and those from Srinagar in Jammu.
Turning Manual to E-Office
It was former Chief Secretary B.V.R Subrahmanyam who, on March 31 last said the government had taken concrete steps to switch to paperless office by rolling out e-office in the moving departments.
The administration has uploaded official records to the e-office. “The switch to the online mode will avoid wear and tear as well as loss of official record during the bi-annual transit, besides saving the associated transportation cost,” the government said.
The Lieutenant Governor of J&K Manoj Sinah had on June 20 announced that the Jammu and Kashmir administration has completely transitioned to e-office, thereby ending the practice of the biannual ‘darbar move’.
“Now both the Jammu and Srinagar secretariats can function normally for 12 months. This will save the government Rs 200 crore per year, which will be used for the welfare of the deprived sections,” he had said.
As part of the ‘darbar move’, the Raj Bhavan, the civil secretariat – the seat of the Jammu and Kashmir government – along with many other offices used to shift between Jammu and Srinagar twice a year.
High Court Strictures
Then Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal of the J&K High Court in 2020 has observed the tradition saying “it burdens the exchequer” and asked for discontinuation of the practice suggesting the Union Home Ministry take an appropriate action in the matter.
“If this practice was rationalised, the amount of money, resources and time, which could be saved, could be utilised towards the welfare and development of the Union Territory, which has otherwise witnessed much turmoil. It could be utilised for the protection and propagation of culture and heritage of the communities,” the court had observed.
However, the residents of J&K have never opposed the tradition, which also resulted in an additional economic activity for both the capitals.
Around ten thousand employees and attached security personnel working in Civil Secretariats, with headquarters in Jammu and Srinagar, would shuttle along with files twice every year. While Srinagar served as the summer capital, Jammu was the winter capital.
Dogra monarch Maharaja Gulab Singh is believed to have started the tradition of shifting the capital in 1872. The tradition was continued after 1947 by J&K’s political class, as it acted as a major bridge and a space for interaction between two diverse linguistic and cultural groups of Kashmir and Jammu regions having distinct climatic conditions as well.
