NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 27th August, 2020
1. These rules may be called the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019.
2. (1) In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,
(a) “the Act” means the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 (34 of 2019);
(b) “Lieutenant Governor” means the Lieutenant Governor of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir;
(c) “Union territory” means the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir;
(d) “Council” means the Council of Ministers appointed under section 54 of the Act;
(e) “Chapter” means a Chapter of these rules;
(f) “Department” means a Department or office specified in the First Schedule annexed to the Transaction of Business of the Government of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir Rules, 2019;
(g) “Government” means the Government of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir;
(h) “Legislative Assembly” or “Legislature of the Union territory” means the Legislative Assembly of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir;
(i) “Minister” means a Member of the Council of Ministers;
(j) “Schedule” means the Schedule annexed to these rules;
(k) “Secretary” means an Administrative Secretary to the Government of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and includes Principal Secretary or Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor, being the official head of the Department.
(2) All other words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Act, shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act ;
(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) shall apply for the interpretation of these rules as it applies for the interpretation of a Central Act.
3. (1) All contracts in connection with the administration of the Union territory shall be expressed to be made by the President and shall be executed on behalf of the President by the Lieutenant Governor, or a person authorised by the Lieutenant Governor.
(2) A person authorised to execute and sign contracts referred to in sub-rule (1) shall execute such contracts within the financial powers delegated to him and in all cases involving exercise of financial powers in excess of those delegated to him, such contracts shall be executed after obtaining the sanction of the competent authority.
(3) Every order or instrument of the Government of the Union territory shall be signed either by the Chief Secretary, Secretary, Special Secretary, Additional Secretary, Deputy Secretary or an Under Secretary to the Government or such other officer as may be specially empowered by the Lieutenant Governor in this behalf and such signature shall be deemed to be the proper authentication of such order or instrument.
CHAPTER –III
Disposal of Business allocated among Ministers
4. (1) The Business of the Government shall be transacted in the Departments specified in the First Schedule, and shall be classified and distributed between those departments as laid down therein.
(2) The Lieutenant Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister shall allot among the Ministers the business of the Government by assigning one or more departments to a Minister.
(3) The Council shall be collectively responsible for all the executive orders issued by any Department in the name of the Lieutenant Governor and contracts made in the name of the President in connection with the administration of the Union territory whether such orders or contracts are authorised by a Minister in respect of a matter pertaining to the Department under his charge or as a result of discussions at a meeting of the Council.
5. (1) Unless the proposal is fully covered by the power to sanction expenditure or to appropriate or re-appropriate funds conferred, by any general or special orders issued by the Finance Department, no Department shall, without the previous concurrence of the Finance Department, issue any order which may
(a) involve any abandonment of revenue or involve any expenditure for which no provision has been made in the Appropriation Act;
(b) involve any grant of land or assignment of revenue or concession, grant, lease or licence or mineral or forest rights or a right to water, power or any casement or privilege;
(c) relate to the number or grade of posts or to the strength of a service, or to the pay or allowance of government servants or to any other conditions or their service having financial implications; or
(d) otherwise have a financial bearing whether involving expenditure or not:
Provided that no order of the nature specified above shall be issued in respect of the Finance Department and the departments and the agencies there under, without the previous concurrence of the General Administration Department.
(2) No proposal which requires previous concurrence of the Finance Department under this rule, but with which the Finance Department has not concurred, may be proceeded with, unless a decision to that effect has been taken by the Council and approved by the Lieutenant Governor.
(3) No re-appropriation shall be made by any Department other than the Finance Department, except in accordance with such general delegation of power of re-appropriation as the Finance Department may make.
(4) Except to the extent that power may have been delegated to the Departments under the rules duly approved by the Finance Department, every order of an administrative Department conveying a sanction to be enforced in audit shall be communicated to the audit authorities by the Finance Department.
(5) Nothing in this rule shall be construed as authorizing any authority or Department, including the Finance Department
(a) to make re-appropriations from one ‘Grant’ or ‘Appropriation for charged expenditure’ to another Grant or Appropriation for charged expenditure;
(b) to re-appropriate funds provided for charged expenditure to meet votable expenditure;
(c) to re-appropriate funds provided for voted expenditure to meet charged expenditure;
(d) to appropriate or re-appropriate funds to meet expenditure on a new service not contemplated in the budget as approved by the Legislative Assembly.
6. The Chief Secretary shall be the Secretary to the Council and the Principal Secretary or Secretary to Lieutenant Governor shall be the Joint Secretary to the Council and when the Secretary to the Council is absent, the Joint Secretary shall perform the duties of Secretary.
7. Subject to the orders of the Chief Minister under rule 8, all proposals referred to in the Second Schedule shall be placed before the Council in accordance with the provisions contained in this Chapter:
provided that no proposal in regard to which the Lieutenant Governor has to act in his discretion under the Act shall be placed before the council for its consideration:
provided further that no proposal in regard to which the concurrence of the Finance Department is required under rule 5(1) shall, save in exceptional circumstances and under the directions of the Chief Minister, be discussed by the Council unless the Finance Minister has had opportunity of considering it:
Provided also that in case of Proclamation under Section 73 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 is in force, the Lieutenant Governor shall determine the manner in which proposals under this Chapter are to be disposed off.
8. All proposals referred to in the Second Schedule shall be submitted to the Chief Minister, after consideration by the Minister-in-charge, with a view to obtaining his orders for the circulation of the proposals under rule 9 or for placing it for consideration of the Council.
9. (1) The Chief Minister may direct that any proposal submitted to him under rule 8 may, instead of being placed for discussion in a meeting of the Council, be circulated to the Ministers for opinion, and if all the Ministers are unanimous and the Chief Minister is of the opinion that discussion in a meeting of the Council is not required, the proposal shall be treated as finally approved by the Council and in case, Ministers are not unanimous or if the Chief Minister is of the opinion that a discussion in a meeting is required, the proposal shall be discussed in a meeting of the Council.
(2) If it is decided to circulate any proposal, the Department to which it belongs, shall prepare a memorandum setting out in brief the facts of the proposal, the points for decision and the recommendations of the Minister-in-charge and forward copies thereof to the Secretary to the Council who shall arrange to circulate the same among the Ministers and simultaneously send a copy thereof to the Lieutenant Governor.
(3) The Secretary of the Department concerned shall be responsible for preparing and authenticating every memorandum for consideration of the Council and for obtaining approval of the Minister in charge and the Chief Minister.
(4) The Secretary to the Council shall ensure that only such proposals are placed before the Council on which the aid and advice of the Council is required.
(5) The Secretary to the Council shall ensure that Minutes of the Meeting of the Council are issued only for such proposals as are referred to in Sub-Rule (3) above.
10. (1) While directing that a proposal shall be circulated, the Chief Minister may also direct, if the matter be of urgent nature, that the Ministers shall communicate their opinion to the Secretary to the Council by a particular date, which shall be specified in the memorandum referred to in rule 9.
(2) If any Minister fails to communicate his opinion to the Secretary to the Council by the date so specified in the memorandum, it shall be assumed that he has accepted the recommendations contained therein.
(3) If the Minister has accepted the recommendations contained in the memorandum or the date by which he was required to communicate his opinion has expired, the Secretary to the Council shall submit the proposal to the Chief Minister.
(4) If the Chief Minister accepts the recommendations and if he has no observation to make, he shall return the proposal with his orders thereon to the Secretary to the Council.
(5) On receipt of the approval of the Chief Minister, the Secretary to the Council shall communicate the decision to the Lieutenant Governor and to the Secretary concerned who shall thereafter take necessary steps to issue the orders unless a reference to the Central Government is required in pursuance of the provisions of Chapter-V.
11. When it has been decided to place a proposal before the Council, the Department to which it belongs, shall, unless the Chief Minister otherwise directs, prepare a memorandum indicating precisely the salient facts of the proposal and the points for decision and copies of the memorandum and such other documents, as are necessary to enable the proposal to be disposed of shall be forwarded to the Secretary to the Council who shall arrange to circulate the memorandum to the Ministers and simultaneously send a copy thereof to the Lieutenant Governor………………………………Read More