Guv delegates power to bureaucrats

As the PDP continued to keep mum over the formation of new government in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death, Governor N N Vohra Thursday delegated ministerial powers to bureaucrats to run the government smoothly.

A Raj Bhavan spokesperson said the delegation of powers have been made in pursuance of the J&K Delegation of Powers Act, 2016 (Governor’s Act No. 1 of 2016).  “The powers delegated to the chief secretary include the powers to accord administrative approval to all kinds of works/projects costing over Rs.7.5 crore up to Rs 20 crore with the concurrence of the Planning and Development Department and the Finance Department.

The chief secretary has also been delegated power to sanction funds in cases under centrally sponsored schemes and plan schemes having financial implication above Rs 50 crore in each case,” he said.

Similarly, the spokesperson said, the administrative secretaries have been delegated powers to accord approval in respect of individual works costing up to Rs 7.5 crore and for release of funds (scheme/object wise) authorised by the Finance Department and the Planning and Development Department in favour of the departments under their administrative control. J&K is under the Governor’s rule since Friday as PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, who was supposed to take oath as first woman chief minister of the state declined to do so. Mehbooba’s father and chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed died on January 7 at AIIMS in New Delhi.

The PDP maintains that it would review the progress made on ‘Agenda of Alliance’ signed by late Mufti’s with the BJP leadership last year before taking a call on the government formation with the BJP.

“Mufti Sahab had a vision to ensure lasting peace for Jammu and Kashmir which is a political issue and his vision was supported by the largest national party (BJP). The party under the leadership of Mehbooba will need to review how much we have succeeded to fulfil his vision so far,”  Naeem Akhtar told reporters on Thursday. Meanwhile, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna, who were reportedly deputed by the party high command to monitor the progress of forming the new regime Thursday returned to New Delhi without breaking the ice.