Delimitation Commission report on J&K

[GS Paper 2 – Indian Constitution, Govt Policies and Interventions]

Context – Jammu and Kashmir delimitation panel orders come into effect. The orders of the Delimitation Commission which redrew the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir come into effect from May 20.

The panel’s two orders — one on March 14 dealing with the number of constituencies reserved for various categories and the second on May 5 dealing with the size of each constituency –have come into effect together from May 20.

Recent Developments

• This will be the first step toward restoring the electoral process in the Union Territory (UT) of J&K which has retained its erstwhile Legislative Assembly.

• The panel was tasked to redraw the boundaries of assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir.

• The delimitation award will be made public detailing the number of constituencies and their size by bringing out a gazette notification once the report is submitted to the government. 

• The delimitation commission has asked the central government to reserve two seats for Kashmiri migrants as well as nominate representatives of people displaced from POJK and settled in the assembly of the union territory.

About the J&K Parliament

• The erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state had 111 seats 46 in Kashmir 37 in Jammu and four in Ladakh plus 24 seats reserved for Pakistan occupied Kashmir

• When Ladakh was declared as a Union Territory, Jammu and Kashmir had 107 seats including the 24 for POK.

• In the new assembly, the panel has said, seats should continue to be set aside but some representatives of people who moved here from PoJK should be nominated to the house.

 Delimitation Commission
 

• The delimitation commission or boundary commission of India is a commission established by the government of India under the provisions of the delimitation commission act. 
• The major task of the commission includes redrawing boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a recent census. 
• The Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.

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