LG Girish Chandra Murmu on Wednesday allocated the departments to Advisors – K.K Sharma, Farooq Khan and Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar. They shall exercise the powers of ministers in respect of the departments under their charge. The reallocation of departments comes in the wake of Rajiv Bhatnagar taking over as the third Advisor recently. Advisor Sharma has been given the Public Works (R&B), Power Development, Planning, Development and Monitoring, School Education, Higher Education, Technical Education, Tourism and Culture Departments. While, the Departments of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, ARI and Trainings , Cooperative, Floriculture, Election, Labour and Employment, Haj and Auqaf, Social Welfare, Tribal Affairs and Youth Services and Sports were allocated to Advisor Farooq Khan, the newly appointed Advisor Bhatnagar will hold the charge of the Departments of Agriculture Production/ Horticulture, Health and Medical Education, PHE/ I&FC, Transport and Animal/Sheep Husbandry. “In exercise of the powers conferred vide Presidential Order S.O. No. 3937 (E) dated October 31, 2019 read with S.O. 01 dated October 31, 2019 of the General Administration Department, Rule 5 of the Jammu and Kashmir Government Business Rules and in supersession of Government Order No. 46-JK(GAD) of 2019 dated November 19, 2019, the Lieutenant Governor is pleased to direct that K.K Sharma, Farooq Khan and Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, Advisors to the Lieutenant Governor, J&K shall exercise powers of the Minister in respect of Departments allocated to them,” reads the order issued by General Administration Department. The order added that for purposes of official correspondence, Advisors K.K. Sharma, Farooq Khan and Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar shall be designated as Advisor (S), Advisor (F) and Advisor (B) respectively. As per the orders, papers related to the General Administration Department, Home Department and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) shall be submitted by the respective Administrative Secretaries through Chief Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor whereas papers related to All India Services (IAS, IPS and IFS) shall be submitted by the respective Administrative Secretaries through the General Administration Department and Chief Secretary for consideration of the Lieutenant Governor. “Papers related to the remaining Departments that do not figure in the aforesaid allocation shall be submitted by the respective Administrative Secretaries to the Lieutenant Governor which include Housing & Urban Development, Information Technology Science & Technology, Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Estates, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Revenue, Forest, Ecology & Environment and Information through Chief Secretary and Finance, Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction, Hospitality & Protocol and Civil Aviation through Financial Commissioner, Finance Department,” the order added.
