G R Mir
Everyone is raising questions against the employees working with Darbar Move especially in the Civil Secretariat. Instead of discussing COVID-19 pandemic, people are discussing Darbar Move and its closure which, in my view, is unethical. People should avoid such discussion at this time when the virus has completely tied up us and we are now nowhere.
We are at the door of death. Everyone is confused as how to come out from this grave situation and restore our activities. People from all corners of the erstwhile State (now UTs) first should get out from the present pandemic safely. Then there is a lot of time to discuss the pros and cons of Darbar Move and its closure. We can also file PIL in the courts and seek directions to become heroes. There would be a lot of time to the people and administration to take decision on this issue.
What is Darbar Move? What are its pros and cons? Why it is still going on when many authorities tried to close this exercise but couldn’t succeed?
In fact, it is political and apolitical. It is widely connected to the aspirations of the people of both the regions. It compensates the people all over the erstwhile State now UTs. It is not burden on the state exchequer but has been forced to be the burden on the state exchequer.
Darbar Move is a collective decision of political and apolitical. It has kept the grace of brotherhood in the regions even a historical example in whole of the world. It has been targeted many times but the people who tried to disturb our brotherhood and living together without cast, creed color and thought couldn’t succeed.
No doubt, it has now become a burden on the state exchequer; why and how? Actually people connected to Darbar Move whose numbers are not less than 3000 who deliver and make government functional at higher level. Every year the numbers have been added by individuals for personal interests who are actually burden on the state exchequer. One must think deeply and check the records then put his/her thought and opinion about Darbar Move.
Every employee of Secretariat is happy to close Darbar Move and I guarantee this. One must come and see the living standard of secretariat employees, how they live and where is their life.
An employee entering the Secretariat office at 9 am (some start from 8 am) and leaving the office from 6 pm up to 10 pm onwards. Some spend half of the nights in the offices to work for the welfare of the people. Officially, Secretariat remains off on Saturday and Sundays but unofficially Secretariat remains functional even on other holidays and the employees remain available on calls for 24×7. Not a single employee can leave the station without proper permission. He hardly takes leave. His life is hell. The life of Bakerwal is better than Secretariat employees who also loose society and his near and dear ones as he is unable to attend any of them during even and odd time. He forgets everything of his life and recollects the same at the time of retirement. Unfortunately nobody recognises him at the time of retirement because he had not attended anyone of his near and dear ones even of his family being out with the Darbar Move. One can easily imagine after comparing the life of Darbar Move employee and his counterpart working in the locality or in the district or in the region without disturbing by Darbar. Darbar Move employee is actually Darbdar Malaazim “Na Ghar Ka Na Ghat Ka”.
A huge number of employees are working in Darbar Move which is actually burden, not by actual employees but adding the employees from subordinate offices consisting more than 10,000. One can easily calculate the additional burden on the state exchequer by attaching the employees whose services are required at a field level rather moving with Darbar on blessings of their godfathers.
I must close with my personal view that Darbar shall continue to move as per the practice going on with curtailment of number of employees required actually. In the first phase, all the employees attached with Moving Offices shall be restored to their previous places required on ground in subordinate offices. The second step shall be taken to put only those employees in Darbar whose services are highly and importantly required at administrative level for good governance. Third, the employees working in field offices shall also be given chance to work at the level of administrative office on rotation basis. The employees working with Darbar Move shall also be given a chance to work in their respective district offices on rotation basis.
Closing Darbar all of a sudden, I think the erstwhile State now UTs will loose brotherhood and business (economy) which both are important at the level of political and apolitical. Second, its implications would be unbearable in the later stage and at that time nobody could manage its remedy. Third, HODs particularly cooperations whose salary is now managed by the government shall not move with Darbar. The majority of employees are moving with those offices. Four, ‘which region can be headquartered’ has already raised many questions. The decision is not so easy, which one can take without the thoughts of everyone and it will create more controversies as are already there.
Disclaimer: The Views Expressed In The Article Are The Authors Own And Don’t Not Represent This Organization.
Author: G R Mir, Former President J&K Civil Secretariat Employees Union
