Shopian, Jul 11: Leaders from various political parties and civil society members in Shopian on Friday urged the Jammu and Kashmir government to revoke its recent decision to shift the headquarters of the Deputy Chief Education Officer (CEO) from the district headquarters in Shopian to Chitragam.The move, announced through an official order, has sparked widespread discontent among political representatives and civil society members.MLA Shopian, Shabir Ahmad Kullay expressed serious concern over the decision, terming it “procedurally flawed and unjustified”. “The decision has been taken without adhering to the established norms. As per the rules, formation of zones is a prerequisite before creating a new post for the Deputy CEO to ascertain the workload and jurisdiction,” he said.Kullay said that in this case, zones have not been created, making the order legally questionable.He further added that leaders of opposition parties, including the BJP, PDP, JKAP, and members of civil society, have decided to collectively oppose this move until it is rolled back.“We have submitted a memorandum to the government, giving them a week to rescind the order. A committee will be formed by Friday evening to chalk out the future course of action,” the MLA said.Former MLA Advocate Aijaz Ahmad Mir also criticised the decision, calling it “upsetting and unsuitable”. “People across Shopian are unhappy with this move. Shifting the headquarters of an existing post from the district headquarters to Chitragam doesn’t serve any public interest,” he said.“The government is always free to create a new post wherever required. But transferring the headquarters of an already existing post from the district headquarters is neither reasonable nor fair to the people of Shopian,” Mir added.Mitha Gatoo, a prominent civil society member from Shopian, said that shifting the Deputy CEO from the district headquarters will neither serve any administrative purpose nor be in the public interest.”Shopian has around 250 villages, shifting the Deputy CEO to Chitragam may serve some nearby villages, but the majority of villages will have to suffer,” he said.
