Darbar Move

Read the story of Prof Hari Om on Darbar Move J&K Govt pays Rs 6,952.338 lakhs to 10,112 employees every year for no work on 93 page  Landmark Judgement delivered  by Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) High Court bench consisting of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal on the 148 year - old practice of Darbar  Move in J & K (WP (C) PIL No. 4/2020 and WP (C) PIL No. 5/2020).  The judgment asked the Union Home Ministry to review this archaic practice, saying that it was total undesirable as well as not in the interest of the people of Jammu province, Kashmir Valley and the nation as a whole.  It gave as many as 22 reasons in support of the historic judgment.  It, among other things, said that 10,112 employees move from Jammu to Srinagar in April and return to Jammu in October every year;  that they do not work for 6 weeks every year, and that the salary of Move employees for six weeks for which no work is done in the Secretariat comes to Rs 6,952.338 lakh.  "For the year 2019, the disclosed expendi ture on the Darbar Moves was to the tune of Rs. 19,858.4298 lakh." If calcu lated for the 73 years period use ofyear since independence on this basis, the total carefully comes to Rs.  14,49,665.3754 lakh, "the judgment said. In fact, the judgment very candidly asked:" Can any government afford the annual expenditure of at least Rs 200 crore (as disclosed and many more crores of rupees of undisclosed costs) to sus  tain and perpetuate an arrangement of bi - annual shifting of its capital two times a year, which originated in 1872?  "

On the origin of this practice Hon'ble High Court says it originated in 1872 from the discomforts of Maharaja Ranbir Singh with the harshness of winters in Kashmir & at the same time also admits that no record was available on the origin of darbar move. 

The story also deals with so many reasons of Maharaja for continuing this practice but the main issue is whether the Darbar is transferred from Srinagar to Jammu or Jammu to Srinagar as no authentic record is available. I'm agree with Prof Hari Om that Darbar is moved from Jammu to Srinagar as Jammu is the permanent capital of erstwhile J&K State. Among other reasons as suggested by Prof. Hari Om,  I also want to add that J&K State came into existence after the treaty of Amritsar in March 1846 & coronation of Maharaja Gulab Singh is done by Maharaja Ranjit Singh on the Jiapota Ghat on the banks of river Chinab at Akhnoor on 16th June 1822. From the coronation to Lahore Intrigues to Treaty of Amritsar Jammu was his main bastion & king maker region for the Sikh Empire. It clearly indicates that Jammu was the main capital & the shifting of darbar was the process that was started afterwards 1846 when the need arose for that.

I'm totally agree with the author that Jammu be made the Permanent Capital with the work culture be divided in both the regions for the smooth governance of JKUT throughout the year in both regions.