CM, Ministers, officers reach Jammu
*Omar to chair meet at 10.30 AM
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 2: After four years of break, the Darbar Move offices will reopen here tomorrow and the seat of the Government will run from the Civil Secretariat for next six months of winter i.e. till April-end. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the Ministers, senior officers of the civil administration, Legislature and staff, reached here by this evening while some others are expected to land tomorrow morning to join the offices.
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Prior to 2021 when the bi-annual Darbar Move practice was stopped by the LG administration, the Move officials were given around 10 days break while shifting from Srinagar to Jammu and vice versa to facilitate movement of records loaded in hundreds of trucks etc. However, with the Civil Secretariat shifting to e-file system, only one or two days time was given to the staff to close offices at Srinagar (the summer capital) and resume them in Jammu. The offices with five-day working closed in Srinagar on Friday while those with six-day sittings closed their gates on Saturday.
Setting an example, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reached Jammu from Srinagar by the National Highway. Enroute, like most of the times, he had a brief stopover at Peerah in Batote and enjoyed famous `Rajma-Chawal with desi ghee’.
“A half marathon deserves a plate of rajma chawal with liberal quantities of ghee at Peerah on the Srinagar-Jammu highway as a reward for the effort,” Omar wrote on X tagging photograph of himself and a plate of rajma-chawal with desi ghee. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister participated in half marathon in Srinagar.
The Ministers and other senior civil officers have also reached here to resume functioning from Jammu tomorrow morning.
Omar is expected to reach the Civil Secretariat at sharp 10 AM and will get rousing reception from the staff. The Chief Minister will meet his Cabinet colleagues and senior officers of the civil administration to review development works etc in the Secretariat at 10.30 AM. He will also meet the employees.
However, the offices falling under the Home Department have been ordered to function simultaneously from Srinagar and Jammu, as per an order issued by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha under whose jurisdiction the Home Department falls.
Senior police officers are expected to stay put in Srinagar till November 5 when Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan will review security situation there.
This time, however, the record was not shifted as the Civil Secretariat has switched over to e-file system and only confidential files and computers were brought here from Srinagar in limited vehicles.
The concerned officers have been working overtime to adjust the staff in rooms and quarters as the process of Darbar Move didn’t take place for four years and most of the rooms had been occupied by the existing staff of Jammu.
“Though the arrangements for sitting of all officials are being made overnight, the adjustments can take couple of days. Also making the accommodation arrangements can take few days but the steps have been taken for smooth settlement of the Move officials,” the official sources said.
The Traffic Police had ordered down convoy for two days on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway to ensure that the Move officers and officials who take road route to reach Jammu don’t face much problems.
Traders of Jammu are upbeat on resumption of bi-annual Darbar Move practice by the Omar Abdullah Government. Throughout the four years, most of the trade bodies had been demanding restoration of Darbar Move saying they have been suffering losses due to stoppage of the centuries old practice.
The Darbar Move practice was stopped by the LG administration in 2021 citing huge financial losses due to shifting of records etc after every six months from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa.
The Darbar Move traces its origins to 1872 under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Dogra ruler who began transferring the royal court between Srinagar and Jammu to escape the extreme weather in both regions.
However, the National Conference in its election manifesto had promised restoration of Darbar Move and fulfilled the commitment within a year. The decision taken by Omar Abdullah Cabinet was approved by the Lieutenant Governor leading to resumption of the bi-annual practice.
The budget session of the Legislature will also be held here in March-April next year.
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