Dear Editor,
As part of the pre-independence biannual Darbar Move practice, Jammu and Kashmir government started functioning from here after shifting from the winter capital Jammu. Raj Bhavan, Civil Secretariat and other offices, which had closed in Jammu on April 24, were opened here as per the Darbar Move, a 140-year-old practice under which government functions six months each in the two capitals.
Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inspected the traditional guard of honour in the Civil Secretariat premises to mark the opening of the offices. Sayeed was welcomed by his cabinet colleagues and senior civil administration and police officials.
The government will function in the summer capital- Srinagar till late October and then move to Jammu in the first week of November. Authorities have made all necessary arrangements including security to ensure smooth functioning of the offices in the Kashmir Valley.
On reopening of offices, work will begin from 9.30 AM to 5 PM at the Civil Secretariat. For other departments located outside the Secretariat, work will start from 10 AM to 4 PM.Voices have been raised against the Darbar move, a practice started by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir in 1872 to escape the extreme weather conditions of Jammu in summer and Kashmir in winter. The practice has been seen as a burden on the state exchequer as crores of rupees are spent on transportation of volumes of official records and employees between the two capital cities twice every year. The administrative aspect of governance also suffers for almost two months every year as the employees get nearly three weeks of extra holidays for traveling from one capital city to another.
Parul Kalra
The Law School, Jammu University