Scrapping Darbar Move would increase gab between Jammu, Kashmir: National Conference

The National Conference on Wednesday cautioned the government against scrapping the biannual Darbar Move, shifting of the administrative capital between Jammu and Srinagar, saying it would increase the gap between the two culturally diverse regions.

"The practice of moving the secretariat to and fro between Jammu and Srinagar is a testimony to our complex history and tradition. Seeing it through the prism of only financial implications is erroneous," NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said in a statement here.

He said it is needless to mention how the practice has done a great service towards fostering the lasting relationship between the people of Jammu and Kashmir divisions.

"The dynamic concept behind the move has been to help make strong cultural contacts among various sections of the people of J-K," he said.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Tuesday said the practice requires to be rationalised by minimising the movement of employees and physical assets.

In a 93-page judgement, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal directed the Centre and the UT administration to place the issues raised in the judgement before the competent authorities for consideration.

"Keeping in view the public interest and to enable continuous efficient governance, it is essential that the movement of employees and physical assets be minimized. Rationalisation of the Darbar Move is urgently required," the bench said.

The court said "the Darbar Move results in wastage of tremendous amount of time, efforts and energy on an inefficient and unnecessary activity like packing of records".

The NC spokesperson said J&K is not the only exception to have two capitals.

"Recently, Andhra Pradesh has proposed to have three capital cities. Similarly, there are other places which have a multi-capital system in place. Capitals of any state or a country are not chosen whimsically. They are the nerve centres of any region which owing to their centrality, history and topography grow into centres of business, commerce and industry. So, by any yardstick, cities of Jammu and Srinagar are best suited for the job," he said.

Referring to the financial implications of the move, the party said the expenditure involved in the practice can be curtailed.

"At a time when digital revolution has become the order of the day and has overtaken our way of working, the excuse of difficulty in moving files from one place to another holds no ground. In the age of cloud computing and other internet technologies, the expenditure involved in the practice can be curtailed. The use of ICT can help us cut on the annual expenditure exponentially,” he said.

The NC said it has a positive psychological impact on the people.

"Having families to travel from Jammu to Srinagar and vice versa leaves a positive impact on people to people relation divided by geographical barriers. The ritual of moving offices has more implicit connotation to it which if overlooked can prove disastrous," he said.

"The need of the hour is therefore to augment the intra-regional connections and make them stronger. Doing away with this practice will inevitably increase the gap between two regions," the NC spokesperson added.