Reviewing administrative powers of Div Coms, DCs
Step imperative for providing better governance
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 3: In a testimony of administrative inertia, a panel of bureaucrats, which was assigned the task of reviewing the administrative powers of Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir within eight days, has failed to submit the report to the Government during the past nearly four months.
This is notwithstanding the fact that such an exercise is imperative keeping in view the establishment of all the three-tiers of the Panchayati Raj System—District Development Councils, Block Development Councils and Panchayat Halqas so that there is no clash in the exercise of the powers at any level.
The Government vide Order No.319-JK(GAD) dated April 8, 2021 constituted a committee to review the powers of the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners vis-à-vis district staffing of various departments for effective governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Commissioner Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department was made chairman of the committee while as Commissioner Secretary, Transport Department, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Commissioner Secretary to the Government, Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Secretary to the Government, Information Technology Department, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Secretary, Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and representative of Principal Secretary to the Government, Revenue Department as its members.
The committee was asked to review the existing administrative powers of Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners in respect of staff of various departments posted in districts including Revenue, Rural Development, Public Works (R&B), Jal Shakti, Health and Social Welfare Departments.
Moreover, it was directed to recommend modifications in the powers for further strengthening the role of Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners for providing better governance. A timeframe of eight days—till April 16, 2021 was fixed for the committee for furnishing report to the Government so that further necessary steps could be taken in a time bound manner.
However, during the past nearly four months the panel of bureaucrats has failed to submit report to the Government although urgency was conveyed by the Government to the committee at the time of its establishment, official sources told EXCELSIOR, adding “the committee has held few meetings and deliberated on the subject assigned to it but report has not been finalized till date”.
“If it was not possible for the committee to submit report within eight days as was mentioned in the order, it should have completed the task at least by the end of April or May”, sources said, adding “even the committee had the option to seek extension in the time-frame from the Government for accomplishment of the vital task but this too has not been done”.
When contacted, some members of the committee, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that report has yet not been submitted to the Government. “Hopefully the left over exercise will be completed in shortest possible time”, they added.
“The review of existing administrative powers of Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners is imperative especially after the establishment of District Development Councils and Block Development Councils across the Union Territory”, they said, adding “as all the three tiers of Panchayati Raj System have been established for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir there is a need to bring clarity about the powers to be exercised by Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to avoid confusion at any level”.
They further said, “it is also required to be clarified by way of properly defined powers that what action the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners can take against the officers of different departments posted in the divisions and districts for dereliction of duties and non-compliance of the orders as in the recent past it has been noticed that action by the Deputy Commissioners was kept in abeyance by the senior officers on the ground of lack of clarity in the exercise of powers”.
According to the sources, the Government is also in the process of strengthening the position of the Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs). “In a recent meeting of the Committee of the Secretaries, the Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, while emphasizing the importance of the institution of SDMs and its relevant in other States, directed the Revenue Department to frame a proposal so as to further strengthen the position of SDMs in the overall administrative hierarchy”, they informed.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
