AHEAD OF the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Durbar Move — a bi-annual shifting of important governmental offices from Jammu to Srinagar and vice-versa — is once again back in the political discourse. In its manifesto, the National Conference (NC) has pledged “to enhance the unity of our state by reinstating the full Darbar Move”. On the other end of the spectrum, the Apni Party led by Altaf Bukhari has also said in its manifesto that it would “reinstate” the practice. What is the Durbar Move? Durbar Move is a bi-annual shifting of the Civil Secretariat and other offices of the state government from Jammu to Srinagar in the summer, and vice-versa in the winter. This is done as Jammu & Kashmir has two capitals: Kashmir during the summer and Jammu during the winter. In Jammu, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of April and reopen in Srinagar on the first Monday after a gap of a week. In Kashmir, offices shut on the last Friday and Saturday of October, to reopen in Jammu on the first Monday after a week’s gap, in November. When did the practice start? Durbar Move is a tradition started by the erstwhile Dogra rulers who hailed from Jammu, but had expanded their boundaries to Kashmir, including what is now Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and Ladakh. Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are different from one another geographically, linguistically and culturally, and were poorly connected by road. It is generally understood that the Durbar Move was started to take the administration to the doorsteps of the people of Kashmir, which is closer to Ladakh. During summers, ruling from Kashmir also helped in ensuring adequate supplies to Ladakh, before the winter snowfall would cut it off. The practice also enabled greater interaction and bonding among the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. Until the 2019 abrogation of Article 370, the administration used to engage hundreds of trucks and buses for carrying office records and officials from one capital city to another. The practice stopped with the Covid-19 pandemic, with the files and official documents being accessed online. Now, only senior bureaucrats of the level of commissioner or secretary and above move between Jammu and Srinagar. Most of them sit in Jammu during the summers and Kashmir during the winters. What is the criticism associated with the Durbar Move? Voices of protest started during the late 1980s, over the amount of money and time spent on the exercise. However, the practice also enjoyed public support. In the late 1980s, when the then National Conference government led by Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah decided to bifurcate the Secretariat by permanently keeping some departments in Kashmir and some in Jammu, Jammu observed a bandh for nearly 45 days in protest, leading to the government withdrawing its decision. In recent years, there was criticism over the fact that the government spent nearly Rs 200 crore on this exercise every year, when it did not have enough funds even to pay salaries to its employees. In 2020, following the abrogation of Article 370, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court observed that there was no legal justification or constitutional basis for the Darbar Move tradition. Saying that the practice has resulted in wastage of tremendous amount of time, efforts and energy on an “inefficient and unnecessary activity”, a Division Bench comprising then Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal observed that valuable resources of the State (financial and physical) cannot be diverted to “completely non-essential usage” when the Union territory in unable to provide even basic essentials to its people. The court recommended that in case the practice was rationalised, the resources and time saved could be utilised towards the welfare and development of the UT. It argued that the money saved could also be used to address Covid-related issues like food shortage, unemployment and healthcare. Why are NC, Apni Party supporting it? Sources in the NC and PDP say the restoration of the Durbar move will help strengthen the bond between the people of Kashmir and Jammu. They also say that the movement between the two cities could improve local business.
