Divided Darbar: Personal conveniences preferred over Public conveniences

Taking Jammu and Kashmir closer to yet another bifurcation, the Jammu & Kashmir Government commanded and controlled directly by the central government has very cruelly fixed the headquarters of eighteen departments in Jammu, the winter capital and nineteen departments in Srinagar, the summer capital. The division of the departments itself shows that departments headed by administrative secretaries of Kashmir valley have been headquartered at Srinagar and those headed by the administrative secretaries of Jammu division and other parts of the country have been headquarters at Jammu, the winter capital. The notification over the division of the departments itself shows that government has fully taken care of the physical conveniences of the administrative secretaries and not the general public and the subordinate staff. The notification over the division of departments itself speaks volumes about the plans carried out by the government to destroy the otherwise efficient and accountable system of public administration in Jammu & Kashmir, a glorious state of yesteryears now reduced to a union territory. The central government which takes pride in the slogans “ water for all”, “ food for all”, “education for all”, “health for all” , “Sports for all”, and “ travel and trade for all” has bifurcated the key departments of health & medical education, PHE Irrigation & Flood Control now called “Jal Shakti”, School Education, Higher Education, Tourism , Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) . The division of the departments is by all standards of understandabilities an attempt to take away the people of both Kashmir Valley as well as Jammu division away from the mainland administration of one or other key department and this dangerous precedence goes against the basic spirit of the delivery of public services and the responsive administration.
The silent dissent brewing up in both Kashmir valley and Jammu division over the slew of controversial measures particularly darbar move, delimitation , domicile law and new job policy, if not modified properly for accommodation and adjustment of bigger public aspirations could trigger a massive unrest in both Kashmir valley and Jammu division anytime in next couple of years.
Interestingly the majority of the subordinate staff of the administrative secretaries kept headquartered either in Srinagar or Jammu has to keep shuttling between the twin capital cities throughout the year. So the government has by probabilities preferred personal conveniences of bureaucrats of Kashmir and Jammu over the public conveniences of the people of both Kashmir valley and Jammu division. Henceforth the government’s concerns over accessibility of people to basic public services have almost reduced to zero in both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division. Not only Jammu & Kashmir but Mahrashtra too has two capitals –Mumbai and Mumbai and Nagpur and interestingly in Mahrashtra too the people of one region are raising the demand for a separate state called Vidharba. Ultimately for decades successive central governments have not dared to take any final call for creation of Vidharba state. Dividing Jammu & Kashmir is more a huge challenge than dividing Mahrashtra and Vidharba formula such politico-administrative wisdom demands that administrative decisions on darbar move are put on hold in the larger interests of the people of both Kashmir valley and as well as Jammu division. The silent dissent brewing up in both Kashmir valley and Jammu division over the slew of controversial measures particularly darbar move, delimitation , domicile law and new job policy, if not modified properly for accommodation and adjustment of bigger public aspirations could trigger a massive unrest in both Kashmir valley and Jammu division anytime in next couple of years.