The Move That Costs Everything and Explains Nothing

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17 Apr 2026

A practice born in 1872 for another century continues in 2026 with modern expense, modern disruption, and little modern accountability. The annual Darbar Move, shifting parts of the Jammu and Kashmir secretariat between Jammu and Srinagar, may once have reflected climatic necessity and administrative logic. In the era of digital governance, secure communication, e-files, video conferencing, and year-round connectivity, the question is no longer historical. It is practical. Why does it continue in its present form, and what does it truly cost?

The latest government order authorises the summer shift to Srinagar, provides special travel allowance, and limits relocation to only a fraction of staff. That single detail raises the most important question. If only a portion of offices move, what exactly is being achieved? Is governance improved when departments are split between two cities? Is efficiency increased when files, personnel, vehicles, and security resources are repeatedly mobilised? Does the citizen benefit when public administration pauses, slows, or fragments during transition? The public has a right to know.

What is the full annual cost of this exercise, including travel allowances, transport fleets, security deployment, dual infrastructure maintenance, administrative downtime, and opportunity cost? In an age where budgets are scrutinised line by line, why does one of the most visible recurring expenditures remain without a transparent public accounting? The Darbar Move has also become trapped between sentiment and reform. Its defenders view it as a regional balance. Its critics view it as bureaucratic theatre. Both sides deserve facts, not slogans.

No democratic government should ask taxpayers to fund a recurring exercise without publishing a measurable benefit. Tradition alone cannot justify expenditure. Emotion alone cannot justify inefficiency. There is a better path.

Preserve regional balance through permanent twin secretariat capacity, equal departmental presence in both capitals, regular ministerial sittings, and technology-driven governance that serves citizens in real time. Retain symbolism where needed, but end waste where proven. The real issue is not Jammu versus Srinagar. It is accountability versus inertia.

If the Darbar Move strengthens administration, publish the evidence. If it does not, redesign it. If it survives only because no one wishes to question it, then the cost is larger than money. A 154-year-old institution deserves respect. It also deserves audit, reform, and honesty.