Darbar moves to Jammu from Srinagar for six months

Srinagar, Oct 26 (UNI) The Civil Secretariat and other related offices will close here tomorrow to reopen in Jammu on November 6 for the annual 'Darbar Move', a practice started in 1872 during Maharaja Ranbir Singh's rule.

The 'Darbar Move' practice between the two state capitals -- Srinagar for six summer months and Jammu for six winter months -- has turned out to be a costly affair. Every six months, the state government incurs several hundred crores of rupees in shifting the offices between the two capitals.

The state exchaquer suffers heavy loss for maintaining the traditional system of shifting the government and other offices from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa.

The Civil Secretariat, which houses the offices of the Chief Minister, his Cabinet colleagues and other top bureaucrats, is the nerve centre of official activities. Nearly 10,000 government officials and employees will move to Jammu for the next six months.

All the departments moving to the winter capital have packed their records. Advance parties, comprising a gazetted officer and 4-5 non-gazetted employees, had already been sent to Jammu on October 23.

The State Road Transport Corporation (SRTC) has made available sufficient number of buses and issued tickets to employees in advance from October 15 from the Civil Secretariat as well as from the main booking counters.

The SRTC has also provided adequate number of trucks to the departments for carriage of record. It will ensure that a mobile workshop accompanied the convoy along with two empty buses and as many trucks to meet any emergency.

The employees and the record would be escorted by adequate number of police personnel.

The General Administration Department has directed the employees not to occupy any government, EP, municipal residential accommodation except under the proper allotment order.

However, the employees could retain the government accommodation allotted to them at Srinagar for bonafide use of their families under intimation to the Estates department on applicable terms and conditions, it added.

The employees will receive special move travel allowance of Rs 5000 per head at the uniform rate. Advance pay under rules has also be authorised for move employees. The October salary had already been disbursed to the employees on October 23.

UNI AG MYK SY VV1312