Jammu Kashmir Government Issues ‘Protocol’ For MLAs Amid Dual Administration

The order comes following complaints of negligence by many legislators amid dual control of administration in Jammu and Kashmir.

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government has directed all government departments and officers to prioritise and extend proper protocol to elected legislators of the Union Territory in the region.

On Friday, the General Administration Department (GAD) Commissioner M. Raju issued a circular instructing officials to attend to elected representatives on priority in public offices, acknowledge and process their communications, requests, and grievances promptly, and deal with them professionally and respectfully.

He said the elected representatives play a crucial role in governance at the grassroots level and deserve due cooperation and priority. “It shall also be ensured that the elected representatives are invited to all official functions and meetings organised in their jurisdiction as also in the event of the official visit of any dignitary in their jurisdiction. These instructions are brought to the notice of all concerned for immediate and strict compliance,” he said.

The order comes following complaints of negligence by many legislators amid dual control of administration in Jammu and Kashmir, where the Lieutenant Governor (LG) has more say on vital matters of law and order and bureaucracy and the chief minister has less authority than him.

The legislators and government officials also complained that the dual control has caused confusion and bureaucracy seems to pay more attention to LG's orders than the CM and legislators.

In the UT, governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the LG has authority over the police and bureaucracy, i.e., IPS, IAS, and IFS officers are under his command, while the Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Officers (JKAS) are under the governance of the CM.

Sources said since the elected government was sworn in in October, there have been many issues of conflict and friction between LG Manoj Sinha and CM Omar Abdullah. The important appointment of Advocate General was also pending despite the elected government having given the nod to previous AG D C Raina to continue, they said.

The fresh order by the GAD has given weightage to the 88 legislators who were elected by the people in the assembly elections held in September last year after six years of delay.

A legislator who wished to remain anonymous said they appreciated the order by GAD, which was issued “after directions” from the CM office, as many legislators had flagged this issue where officials felt themselves “non-obliging” to MLAs.

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