Delimitation Commission proposes nine seats for STs, seven for SCs in J-K

The Delimitation Commssion set up to redraw assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir has proposed six additional assembly seats for the Jammu region and one for the Kashmir Valley as also nine seats for Scheduled Tribes and seven seats for Scheduled Castes in the Union Territory.

The total assembly seats in the Jammu region are proposed to go up to 43 from 37 and in the Kashmir region from 46 to 47.

"For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, a total of nine seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 90 seats on the basis of population and seven seats are proposed for Scheduled Castes," Delimitation Commission said in a press release.

The Commission, headed by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, held its second meeting here and it was attended by associate members from Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Election Commissioner was also present. The commission explained the criteria used for forming the draft recommendations of allocating additional assembly seats to Jammu and Kashmir and said that it categorized all 20 districts into three broad categories on the basis of the average population.

"The Commission explained that taking all these into account, it has categorized all 20 districts in three broad categories A, B and C giving a margin of 10 per cent of average population per Assembly Constituency (AC) while proposing an allocation of the constituencies to the districts," the press release said.

The release said that the Commission has also, for some districts, proposed carving out of an additional constituency to balance the representation for geographical areas having inadequate communication and lack of public conveniences due to their inhospitable conditions on the international border.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah along with party leaders Mohammad Akbar Lone and Hasnain Masoodi and BJP's Jugal Kishore Sharma, all MPs from Jammu and Kashmir, took part in the meeting.

The first meeting of the commission was held on February 18, 2021.

Chief Election Commissioner, in his remarks, shared the experiences of the commission interacting with people in Jammu and Kashmir during its visit and emphasized that the work of delimitation is being carried out within the overall statutory framework and keeping the the interest of common people of the Union Territory.

He highlighted Section 9(1)(a) of the Delimitation Act, 2002 read with Section 60(2)(b) of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which specifies that all constituencies shall, as far as practicable, be geographically compact areas, and regard shall be had to physical features.

The release said that associate members also appreciated the fact that the commission visited the Union Territory and met a large number of people. "They assured that all necessary assistance would be extended in the work of delimitation," it said.

Chandra Bhushan Kumar, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner gave a detailed presentation on the work done. He informed that in the Union Territory, since the last delimitation, the number of districts has increased from 12 to 20 and the number of tehsils from 52 to 207. The population density in the districts here varies from 29 persons per square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons per square km in Srinagar.

The administration has been allocating compensatory allowance to government officials working in the specific areas on grounds of the remoteness of the place, its inaccessibility, severe inclement weather conditions, its remaining cut off from the rest of the state (now Union Territory) for a period of time, lack and gross inadequacy of medical, educational, residential and other basic amenities of life, its health hazards and similar other rigorous conditions of living.

The Union Territory also shares international boundary and in those locations, the inhabitants are forced to take shelter, intermittently, bunkers due to continued inhospitable and uncertain living conditions, the press note further read.

The Commission shared Paper I describing the proposed seat allocation at the level of districts with all the members. They have been requested their views or suggestions by December 31, 2021. Twenty four seats in the assembly continue to remain vacant as they fall in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.

( With inputs from ANI )

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