Indian Tribal News Service
New Delhi
The Delimitation Commission, on Thursday, signed the final order on redrawing the assembly constituencies of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, a day before its term was to end. A gazette notification was issued after the panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, signed the final order giving Jammu six additional seats and one more to Kashmir.
While nine seats have been reserved for STs for the first time, all five Parliamentary constituencies will have an equal number of Assembly constituencies, the Delimitation Commission has decided
“..The Delimitation Commission has reserved 9 ACs for STs for the first time and 07 for SCs. It is worthwhile to mention that the Constitution of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir State did not provide for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly,” the Election Commission said.
“Having regard to relevant provisions of the Constitution (Article 330 and Article 332) and sub-sections (6) and (7) of Section 14 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, the number of seats to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Legislative Assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was worked out on the basis of 2011 Census,” the EC said.
Out of the 90 Assembly constituencies in the region, 43 will be a part of Jammu region and 47 of the Kashmir region. Before the restructuring, which takes the total number of assembly seats in the UT to 90, Jammu had 37 assembly constituencies and Kashmir 46.
Names of some of the Assembly constituencies have also been changed keeping in view the demand of local representatives. These name changes included naming Tangmarg assembly seat as Gulmarg assembly seat, Zoonimar as Zaidibal assembly seat, Sonwar as Lal Chowk, , Padder as Padder-Nagseni , Kathua North as Jasrota, Kathua South as Kathua, Khour as Chhamb, Mahore assembly seat as Gulabhgarh assembly seat, Darhal as Budhal assembly seat.
Although the Commission was tasked to finish the delimitation process in a year, on March 4 this year, it was granted a year’s extension on the request of the panel members since it couldn’t make much progress due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown across the country.
The Commission said on the requests of Kashmiri migrants from the Pakistan Occupied Jammu Kashmir to reserve few seats for them, the Commission has recommended the Central Government to consider at a provision of at least two members (one of them must be a female) from the community of Kashmiri Migrants in the Legislative Assembly and such members may be given power at par with the power of nominated members, of the Legislative Assembly of Union Territory of Puducherry.
If further said: “The Central Government may consider giving the Displaced Persons from Pakistan occupied Jammu and Kashmir some representation in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, by way of nomination of representatives of the Displaced Persons from Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
