Portfolios re-allocated among 3 Advisors
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 29: Governor Satya Pal Malik today allocated major powers, both administrative and financial, to his three Advisors, Chief Secretary and some of the Administrative Secretaries and re-allocated portfolios among the Advisors after the exit of BB Vyas, one of the Advisors, who had recently been appointed as the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) member.
Delegation of Powers to CS & Administrative secretaries
The Governor allocated the powers read with the Presidential order as Jammu and Kashmir has come under the spell of President’s rule on December 19.
Malik has also delegated powers of Ministers to the Chief Secretary and some Administrative Secretaries in respect of the matters allotted to them through a Government order.
Official orders issued today by the General Administration Department (GAD) said all cases which were required to be submitted to the Cabinet in terms of Schedule-II of the Jammu and Kashmir Government Business rule will be submitted by the Administrative Departments with the approval of the concerned Advisor to the State Administrative Council (SAC) through the Chief Secretary.
In the President’s rule, the SAC, headed by the Governor and comprising his Advisors, the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary to the Governor, had powers of the State Cabinet.
“All cases which were required to be submitted to the Chief Minister in coordination or the Governor in terms of Schedule-III and Schedule-IV of the Jammu and Kashmir Government Business Rules, will be submitted by the Administrative Department concerned with prior approval of the concerned Advisor to the Governor through the Chief Secretary,” the Government order said.
However, the cases involving major policy decisions or having substantial financial implications will be submitted by the Administrative Secretary concerned to the Advisor through the Chief Secretary, the order said, adding that the powers already delegated to the Administrative Secretaries, will continue to be exercised by them.
The Chief Secretary (BVR Subrahmanyam) will enjoy financial powers in the cases related to accord of administrative approval to all kinds of works/projects under plan/non-plan costing over Rs 7.5 crore and up to Rs 20 crore with the concurrence of Finance and Planning Departments.
“In cases under Centrally Sponsored Schemes/Central Mega Flagship Schemes/TFC grants/plan scheme having implication above Rs 50 crore in each case, the funds authorization powers have been vested with the Chief Secretary,” the Government order said.
It added that cases where administrative and financial powers have been delegated in various codes/manuals in favour of all departments/ Administrative Departments /specified departments, they will be exercised by the concerned Administrative Secretaries only with approval of the Chief Secretary.
Cases where administrative and financial powers have been delegated in various codes/manuals, but competent authority or authorities have not been specified, the powers will be exercised by the Chief Secretary with prior concurrence of Finance Department.
The Chief Secretary and some of the Administrative Secretaries will hold powers of the Ministers.
The Administrative Secretaries given powers of the Ministers included those of GAD, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department, Finance, Revenue, Higher Education, Labour and Employment, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, School Education, Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. However, their powers have been specified in the Government order.
The Chief Secretary will hold powers of transfers/postings/adjustments of officers up to the level of Time Scale KAS and equivalent, premature transfer of the Gazetted Officers borne on the services administered by the GAS up to the level of Time Scale of KAS/equivalent.
The Administrative Secretaries, as per the Government order, will accord approval for individual works up to Rs 7.5 crore.
Other powers conferred upon the Administrative Secretaries included release of funds authorized by Finance and Planning Departments in favour of the Departments under their administrative control, sanctioning of advance drawls up to Rs 25 lakh, delegation of DDO powers in respect of officers of the departments under their administrative control, all advance drawl cases beyond an amount of Rs 25 lakh with prior concurrence of the Finance Department and issuance of Government guarantees with concurrence of the Finance Department.
The Administrative Secretary GAD has been accorded powers to order transfers, postings and adjustments of Under Secretaries, Administrative Officers and Private Secretaries or equivalent officers and approve promotion of similar rank officers. He will have powers to make compassionate appointments covered under SRO-43.
The Administrative Secretary, Planning, Development and Monitoring Department has been authorized for release of additionalities up to Rs 25 lakh in favour of various Departments/District Development Commissioners under District Plans for ongoing schemes and Rs 50 lakh in respect of State Plan for ongoing schemes. He will be authorized for re-appropriation of funds from one approved scheme to another within a sector, approval of Annual Plans after formal adoption and approval of revised estimates within the sector of district and re-appropriation of funds for ongoing schemes under the Border Area Development Programmes.
Similarly, the Administrative Secretary, Finance Department, will be empowered to contract all open market borrowings as approved in the Annual Plan 2018-19, provide temporary liquidity mismatch by taking the Overdraft route with J&K Ban under RBI’s Ways and Means facility within the permissible limit, raise institutional finance as per the approved scheme of financing for Annual Plan 2018-19, authorize funds under Centrally Sponsored Schemes/Central Mega Flagship Schemes/TFC grants/Plan up to a monetary limit of Rs 50 crore and to deal with all cases of payments out of `Contingency Fund of the State’.
In view of Jammu and Kashmir switching over to President’s rule from Governor’s rule, the State Government had accorded fresh sanction to appointment of three Advisors to the Governor including K Vijay Kumar, Khurshid Ahmad Ganai and KK Sharma with effect from December 19, 2018, the day the President’s rule was imposed.
Sanction of the appointments has been cleared by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
As BB Vyas had recently resigned as the Advisor to Governor, his portfolios have been allocated among three Advisors.
Advisor K Vijay Kumar will now hold charge of Home, Forest, Ecology and Environment, Health and Medical Education, Youth Services and Sports, Hospitality and Protocol, Civil Aviation, Estates, Information, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Ladakh Affairs, Agriculture and Horticulture.
Advisor Khurshid Ahmad Ganai will be Incharge of the Departments including School Education, Higher Education, Transport, Haj & Auqaf, Technical Education, Floriculture, Animal/Sheep Husbandry, Cooperative, Tourism, Culture, Social Welfare, Labour & Employment, Election, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Tribal Affairs, ARI & Trainings.
The Departments allocated to Advisor KK Sharma included Public Works (R&B), PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Power, Finance, Housing and Urban Development, Information Technology, Industries & Commerce, Science Technology, Planning Development & Monitoring, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction.
Charge of the General Administration Department (GAD) hasn’t been given to any of the three Advisors. Papers related to the GAD will be submitted by the Chief Secretary directly to the Governor.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
