In a signal that the new elected government is taking steps to restore Durbar Move, the General Administration Department has mandated that senior officers be present at the Civil Secretariat in Jammu starting November 11, 2024. While the order does not explicitly mention the revival of the Durbar Move—a practice scrapped after the abrogation of Article 370 in October 2019—it mentions that the purpose is to facilitate smooth official business in the Union Territory. Administrative Secretaries and heads of departments have been ordered to ensure their presence in Jammu, though they may travel to Srinagar as needed.
That said, one can’t see a need for restoration of the Durbar Move in a day and age where advancements in communication technology have erased geographical barriers. The e-governance, an offshoot of this technology, has further made the need for the bureaucrats to work from different geographical locations redundant. This is why the Lieutenant Governor’s administration had rightly done away with the practice without in any way impacting the efficiency of the governance.
Truth is that now the Move represents little more than a symbolic tradition; it serves as a privilege and a luxury for the ruling elite and their administrative subordinates, looking to escape the bitter winter of the Kashmir Valley. In stark contrast, the ordinary population in the Valley is left behind to endure a bleak and challenging existence in winter, living in conditions that are only slightly better than those of the dark ages, with supply of electricity reducing to a trickle during the season. An elected government can hardly be expected to behave this way. The new ruling elite shouldn’t abandon people at a time when the weather makes life challenging. If the LG administration could function smoothly without a Durbar Move, they could too. In 2020, the union territory administration had offered a rationale for ending the practice: One, that it will save Rs 200 crore per year, which will be used for the welfare of the deprived sections of the society. Second, the administration had transitioned to an e-office, following which the moving of Durbar was not needed.
It is true that people in the Jammu region, especially the traders, have strongly opposed the government decision to end the Move. According to them, the ending of the practice has detrimentally impacted the businesses, as people from the Valley stopped travelling to Jammu in large numbers that, in turn, helped the local economy. While their grievance is understandable, the travelling to Jammu by Kashmiris in winter has now by and large outgrown the need for the Durbar Move. In winter, Jammu has now become a second home for thousands of Kashmiris, who together adequately compensate for the absence of government employees. It is thus important that the newly elected legislators from the Valley stay put in their respective constituencies in winter and don’t abandon their people in pursuit of their personal comfort.
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