The Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Monday resubmitted its Transaction of Business Rules to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha after addressing his query on whether the document had been framed in accordance with the rules, officials said.
The officials familiar with the matter said the Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, sent the proposal back with no changes for Sinha’s final approval.This was the first Cabinet meeting after government offices resumed functioning from Srinagar, the summer capital.
The officials said the Cabinet deliberated on the lieutenant governor’s query, asking it if all procedures had been followed while framing the Transaction of Business Rule (TBR).
The Cabinet concluded that the objections lacked merit and decided to resubmit the TBR in its original form and informed the lieutenant governor’s office that all procedures had been followed while framing the document. The move underscores a potential difference in opinion between the elected government and the lieutenant governor’s office on the procedural framework governing the administration.
The TBR defines the processes and protocols for how the elected government and the lieutenant governor’s office conduct their affairs.
Among the contentious issues in the Union Territory are the transfers done by the lieutenant governor-led administration by placing All India Services officers on posts meant for the Jammu and Kashmir administrative cadre.Under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, the lieutenant governor looks after All India Services officers while the Union Territory government is entrusted with administrative services officers.
