LG pushes for major administrative reorganization in J&K, ruffles feathers of elected government

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha addresses a commemoration event on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Center (SKICC) in Srinagar. File | Photo credit: PTI

Days after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah raised concerns in the Assembly over the dual power system and transfers to the Union Territory, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) pushed through a major reshuffle, replacing 49 officials, including those elected in the Information Department and the SMC, to bring the Srinagar Corporation under its jurisdiction.

Based on a government order, Mr. Sinha transferred and posted 49 officers, mostly from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). However, it also included officers from the J&K Administrative Service (JKAS). According to the Department of General Administration, the exercise was “conducted in the interest of administration”.

It affects 30 departments

The transfers have affected more than 30 departments in J&K, which include the Information Department and the SMC. The order appointed Mamta Yadav, an IAS officer, as the new Director of Information and Basharat Qayoom, an IAS officer, as the Commissioner, SMC. Most Deputy Commissioners in J&K are currently from the IAS cadre unlike in the past.

“The LG had to push through these transfers with good vision. We will prepare to work with these officers now,” Mr Abdullah said.

Transactional Business Rules

The Lok Bhavan and the Chief Minister’s office have been on a collision course over transfers of officers in the past since the National Conference took over the reins of J&K in 2024. Official sources said Mr Abdullah had been prodding the Lok Bhavan and the Center on the rules for business transactions to be framed under the J&K Reorganization Bill 2019.

A senior NC leader said the trade rules would delineate the roles of the Chief Minister, Council of Ministers and local government regarding separations and transfers. However, the file approved by the elected government regarding the Business Rules is still pending approval at the Lok Bhavan.

“Ideally, departments like information, SMC etc should be under an elected government,” the NC leader said.

In his recent address to the J&K Assembly, Mr Abdullah complained that the dual power system without trade rules had “restricted his Chief Minister’s powers”.

“I am the power minister, but the files of J&K Power Development Corporation are not reaching me. It was said that the domain of LG will be only IAS, IPS and security, but even the files of the premier medical centre, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), are not being directed to the health minister,” Abdullah said.

Officials in the chief minister’s office said queries and objections raised about the trade rules had been “addressed flexibly” but were “still awaiting their implementation”. Mr Abdullah raised the issue with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his meeting in Delhi earlier this year.

The rules are awaiting approval as Mr Abdullah’s party won a majority of 42 seats in J&K in the 2024 assembly elections.

Published – 7 Oct 2026 22:33 IST