Srinagar: The Omar Abdullah-led Jammu and Kashmir government is practically handicapped in the absence of the Business Rules even though it has been more than a month since the National Conference leader was sworn in as the first Chief Minister of the Union Territory.
The UT government has not taken any big decision for want of the rules which define its functions and that of the bureaucracy.
To lay a legal roadmap for itself for governing the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the government has set up a cabinet sub-committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary and ministers Sakeena Masood Itoo, Javaid Rana, and Law Secretary Achal Sethi, Commissioner General Administration Department Sanjeev Sharma as its members.
Choudhary told ETV Bharat that rules of business are being framed by the committee which was set up by the Chief Minister. "The work is in progress," he said. "Very soon," he said when asked about the timeline to complete the process and its implementation.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 has defined the rules of the Lieutenant Governor but it has not stated the rules of business for an elected government. The Act was implemented after Jammu and Kashmir was downgraded into a union territory on August 5, 2019, when the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government abrogated Articles 370 and 35 A.
Ashraf Mir, former Law Secretary in the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, said the Business Rules will define and govern the work and authority of the Chief Minister, council of ministers, ministers, and Heads of the Departments.
"The cabinet sub-committee formed for framing Business Rules will submit its report to the L-G, who will then submit to Home Ministry and the Ministry will then issue the amendment notification in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act," Mir told ETV Bharat.
“Until new rules are framed, the elected government cannot take any decision. And if and when the statehood is restored, the rules will be reframed as per the state,” Mir said.
Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president and legislator from Srinagar Tariq Karra hoped that the Business Rules "are framed and implemented soon".
"This is the period of transition and a new experience for Jammu and Kashmir which is why it (framing of Business Rules) is being delayed. We hope this will be sorted out soon," Karra told ETV Bharat.
In the erstwhile state, Section 45 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution defined the Business Rules for the chief minister and his council of ministers. In the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, Section 55 defines the conduct of business, explaining that the Lieutenant Governor shall make rules on the advice of the council of Ministers for the allocation of business to the Ministers; and for the more convenient transaction of business with the Ministers including the procedure to be adopted in case of a difference of opinion between the Lieutenant Governor and the Council of Ministers or a Minister.
"All executive action of the Lieutenant Governor, whether taken on the advice of his Ministers or otherwise, shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the Lieutenant Governor," the section reads.
"Orders and other instruments made and executed in the name of the Lieutenant Governor, shall be authenticated in such manner as may be specified in rules to be made by the Lieutenant Governor on the advice of Council of Ministers, and the validity of an order or instrument which is so authenticated shall not be called in question on the ground that it is not an order or instrument made or executed by the Lieutenant Governor," it says.
Before the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Ministry of Home Affairs on July 12 amended the transaction rules of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
This amendment empowered the Lieutenant Governor to have the authority to transfer administrative secretaries and cadre posts of All India Service (AIS) officers, and gave him control over police, public order, All India Service and the anti-corruption bureau.
The amendment also authorised him to appoint Advocate General and other law officers to assist him or her, grant or refuse prosecution sanction, control prisons, directorate of prosecution and forensic science laboratory.
The MHA notification announcing the amendment read, “The proposal (s) shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor of J&K by the administrative secretary, General Administration Department through the Chief Secretary".
Omar Abdullah, then a fervent opponent of the BJP government and the L-G, had sharply reacted to the amendment with "the people of J&K deserve better than a powerless, rubber stamp CM who will have to beg the LG to get his/her peon appointed".
Another indicator that elections are around the corner in J&K. This is why a firm commitment laying out the timeline for restoration of full, undiluted statehood for J&K is a prerequisite for these elections. The people of J&K deserve better than powerless, rubber stamp CM who… https://t.co/THvouV1TxF
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 13, 2024
Omar was right in his assessment as his cabinet, sworn in on October 16, and completing a month in office now, has not been able to transfer even a peon.
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