Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to enforce austerity measures at the Centre, the State governments, especially in Jammu and Kashmir, continue to inherit the royal legacy with Babus and their blue eyed enjoying best of all the worlds. In J and K, for example, the officers in the Civil Secretariat are not mostly required to carry out tours but despite that a caravan of cars remain at their disposal with running average not less than 60 to 100 kilometers a day.
Is it a matter of pride or shame for a state like J and K, which is totally dependent on the central assistance, to have bureaucracy which presides over lavish expenditure to the hilt without being accountable?