Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, May 21: Jammu people are suffering as even around a month after the closure of Darbar here, there is no Government order for establishment of the Summer Secretariat unlike the past practice.
Though there is no official word on the fate of Summer Secretariat, sources told the Excelsior that the new PDP-BJP Government has almost decided to give up this past practice, which was continuing till last year.
Consequent upon the new development, Jammu people are suffering as they have to now rush to Srinagar for pursuing their each and every Secretariat related work. Further, in the absence of Ministers and Civil Secretariat here, there is no taker of the general public grievances like Bijli, Paani and Sadak.
Pertinent to mention that unlike other States of the country, Jammu and Kashmir has two capitals; Jammu and Srinagar and the practice of Darbar (Civil Secretariat) move after every six months has had been in force since the time of Maharaja Gulab Singh.
In order to ensure that people may not suffer because of Darbar move or closure of offices during summers in Jammu and winters in Kashmir, then Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had introduced the new concept of Summer Secretariat and Winter Secretariat in 2006.
Since then, the Government order for establishment of the Summer Secretariat every year was used to be issued more than a week ahead of the Darbar move, and the same used to start functioning on the very first working day after the closure of offices here.
The Summer Secretariat was having a staff strength of one officer of the level of Special Secretary/Additional Secretary, two Deputy Secretaries/ Under Secretaries, Section Officer/ Head Assistant/ Senior Assistant/ Junior Assistant (total four), two Stenographers and five Orderlies. Besides, schedules were officially issued for the availability of at least one Minister in the Summer Secretariat on rotational basis.
However, the new PDP-BJP coalition Government is learnt to have unofficially decided to give up this past practice as there were alleged complaints of misuse of this system by a section of officials in the Civil Secretariat. More than the required number of officials had been managing their stay in the camp office because of their personal reasons and thus work in the Civil Secretariat was getting adversely affected, explained a senior officer on the condition of anonymity.
But completely giving up of the past practice, instead of taking corrective measures to streamline the system, has been affecting general public and proper monitoring of Government works in Jammu.
When contacted, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Nirmal Singh said that the Government and its Ministers were constantly in touch with the people in Jammu and there was no such complaint of sufferings because of non-establishment of Summer Secretariat. ” The Government is looking for some better substitute to ensure proper attention to public issues round the year in Jammu as well as in Kashmir,” he added while parrying a direct reply on the fate of Summer Secretariat.
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