Raj Bhavan wants to monitor development

While the Jamp;K government is finding it difficult to control the security situation and has sought help from North Block,the Raj Bhavan wants to monitor all developmental activities on a monthly basis....

While the Jamp;K government is finding it difficult to control the security situation and has sought help from North Block,the Raj Bhavan wants to monitor all developmental activities on a monthly basis,undermining the writ of the Omar Abdullah government in the state.

In a letter,a copy of which is with The Indian Express,Commissioner Secretary,Planning and Development department,B B Vyas,has asked all the administrative secretaries in the government to file a comprehensive brief on the developmental activities on the fourth day of every month. Referring to a letter addressed by Principal Secretary to the Governor to all administrative secretaries,the letter said that this report will be in addition to the other reports/ returns to be communicated to the Planning and Development department every month by 10 of succeeding month,the time schedule for which must continue to be strictly adhered to.

Vyass letter is addressed to all departments in the government. The departments have been asked to file the first report for this month.

The issue is likely to snowball into a major controversy because the Raj Bhavan8217;s efforts to intervene in the elected governments affairs had earlier created a massive rift between the Governor and Chief Minister during PDP-Congress rule. The then Governor,Gen S K Sinha,had sought to hold meetings with Deputy Commissioners and take security reviews. This infuriated the then CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed who issued strict directions to his officers not to report to Raj Bhawan.

The rift continued and Governor Sinhas insistence to set up a separate developmental authority for Amarnath outside the ambit of the Jamp;K government and transfer of 5,000 kanals of forest land to the shrine board later became a reason for the 2008 Amarnath agitation. Two years later,the government is yet to address the deep communal divide created by the land agitation between Jammu and Srinagar.

The Raj Bhavan8217;s contact with the administrative secretaries and the Chief Secretary,bypassing the Chief Minister and the Cabinet,with an aim to directly monitor developmental works in the state is all set to create another power centre within the state. The government didnt comment on the issue despite repeated attempts by The Indian Express.