450 officers to move along for smooth functioning
Arvind Sharma|Jammu Tawi|Nov 8: For the first time since the stoppage of biannual darbar move practice in the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir, the office of Lieutenant Governor (LG) of the erstwhile state will now work from Jammu for the next six (6) months and for the purpose i.e smooth functioning of civil secretariat and some other government works many officers have also been called from Srinagar to Jammu.
“For smooth functioning of Raj Bhawan and also the civil secretariat, around four hundred and fifty (450) officers working from Srinagar have been directed by the government to join their duties at Jammu civil secretariat,” sources informed the Northlines while wishing not to be named.
This has been done by the administration to give a message that there is no disparity/discrimination between Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
“Majority of the officers who have been directed to join their duties at Jammu are the gazetted officers,” sources said adding, “Many officers have also joined their duties at Jammu”.
The 149-year-old practice of darbar move was stopped by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha in June this year.
The residential accommodations of government officials in the twin capitals of Jammu and Srinagar were also cancelled and the officials were asked to vacate their government quarters in Jammu and Srinagar within 21 days.
On June 20, the LG had 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.
The practice of darbar move has been a part of the Jammu and Kashmir administration since 1872 when it was introduced by Maharaja Gulab Singh. Srinagar serves as the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, while Jammu is the winter capital. The administration used to function in Jammu during the six months of winter and in Srinagar during the summer.
The Raj Bhavan, the civil secretariat and other major offices used to be shifted to the twin cities in phases, which used to cost the exchequer close to Rs 200 crore.
