The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission has released its draft report and sought objections and suggestions from the public and residents of the union territory before March 21, after which it will be considered by the panel in open sittings on March 28 and 29.

What is delimitation

Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time. The objective is to redraw boundaries based on census data so the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the state. It is a key step in the move to hold elections in the union territory, which could then be followed by restoration of statehood.

Who is heading the commission

The panel that redraws constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir has been given an extension till May 6 to complete the exercise of redrawing Assembly constituencies in the state. The panel was originally constituted in 2020 but was given a 12-month extension last year. Headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, it has chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra as its chairman.

Seven new constituencies proposed

The proposal for the creation of six new constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir and one in the Kashmir Valley has been published. It also proposes the carving out of seven scheduled caste and nine scheduled tribe constituencies in the region.

What will change if the proposal is cleared

The number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is to be increased from 83 to 90, with 43 in Jammu region and 47 in Kashmir; 24 seats will be kept aside (and vacant) for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The number of Lok Sabha seats have been kept five and no seat has been reserved for scheduled castes or tribes.

Parties opposing the draft

The Farooq and Omar Abdullah-led National Conference had earlier distanced itself from the proceedings but rejoined late last year. The Congress has strongly objected to the final draft of the legislation, saying it ‘totally ignores ground realities’ and is ‘dissection not delimitation’.

Complete News: Hindustan Times