After 4 years, 'darbar' to reopen in Jammu today

Government offices under ‘Darbar Move’ — the biannual shifting of offices between the two capitals — will open in Jammu on Monday, ending the four-year hiatus.

While the ‘Darbar Move’ was abolished in 2021 by the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administration citing heavy expenditure of over Rs 200 crore in the shifting, the business community of Jammu was eagerly waiting for the practice to resume.

The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government — in its manifesto during the Assembly polls last year — had promised that it would resume the practice. The CM, who was in Srinagar on Sunday morning, reached Jammu by evening as he would be present during the official resumption of the government offices here.

Originally, the practice was started by Dogra Maharaja Ranbir Singh in 1872 to ensure administrative presence in both Kashmir and Jammu and also to avoid harsh winters of Kashmir.

Omar, during an event in Srinagar on Saturday, had stated that ending Darbar Move was “injustice to Jammu”. He stated that the practice was not a legacy of Sheikh Abdullah, Dr Farooq Abdullah or anyone else. “It was present even before 1947. I did not have a single MLA from Jammu, but I saw that ending the Darbar Move was injustice to the region for which I restored it,” he stated.

During the six months of shifting of Kashmiri employees to Jammu, markets especially in old city areas witness vibrancy and swirling of economy. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jammu, had many times appealed to the government in the past to resume the practice.

To resolve the issues of residents in Kashmir, the government has retained over 185 staffers from different departments at Civil Secretariat, Srinagar. The step has been taken for better coordination among the departments.

On the other hand, a roaster for ministers has been prepared where they will be supposed to remain available at the Secretariat in Srinagar for November and December.

Javid Ahmad Dar, who is the Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, will be available from November 3-7. Sakeena Itoo, Minister for Health and Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education, will remain available from November 10-14. Satish Sharma, who is the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Transport, Science and Technology, will be available from November 17-21.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary will be available in Srinagar from November 24-28 while Javed Ahmed Rana, Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest Ecology and Environment and Tribal Affairs, will be available from December 1-5.