Data given by DCs to be taken into consideration
Lengthy budget session may delay process
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Feb 20: Panchayat and Municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir which haven’t been held for over a year now may not be conducted shortly even after submission of report by the OBCs Commission on February 28 in view of lengthy exercises to be undertaken by the Rural Development Department (RDD) and State Election Commission (SEC) for reservation of the Wards.
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Officials told the Excelsior that budget session of the Legislature from March 3 to April 11 will also keep the administration on toes giving them little chance to carry out the exercise for reservations of the Wards and delimitation, if required. The OBC Commission which has been tasked to recommend percentage of reservation to be given to OBCs in both Urban and Rural Local Bodies is expected to submit its report on February 28 on the completion of extended terms.
The Government has to study the report and, if satisfied, has to give go ahead to implement its recommendations pertaining to quantum of reservation to be given to the OBCs in Panchayats and Municipalities. After the Government nod to implement report of the Panel headed by Justice (Retired) Janak Raj Kotwal and comprising RK Bhagat, retired IAS officer and Dr Mohinder Singh Badwal, former Dean SKUAST Jammu, the role of RDD and SEC will come into force.
“While the RDD has to undertake exercise for reservation of Wards for the Panchayats, it is the SEC which has to conduct similar exercise for the Municipalities,” the officials said, adding data supplied by the Deputy Commissioners or other Departments about population of the OBCs to the Commission will be crucial for recommending reservations to the backward classes in the local bodies.
There have been reports that the Panel could recommend reservations to the OBCs in local bodies in proportionate to their population which will be exactly what the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are getting. Women, however, enjoy 33 percent reservations in all the local bodies.
The officials said the RDD and SEC will have to take population of OBCs into account before taking a decision on reserving the Wards in Panchayats and Municipalities for the Backward Classes. Once this exercise is completed, the Wards will be reserved for SCs, STs, OBCs and Women. Within the Women reservation, there is a provision for quota to SC Women and ST women and the same may also be made applicable to OBC Women.
Because of the reservations to OBCs for the first time in these bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, elections to Panchayats and Municipalities, which were due to be held in October-November, 2023 have been delayed.
The Municipalities, Panchayats and BDCs are now without elected members for more than one year. While term of the Municipalities ended in October-November 2023, the Panchayats completed their tenure on January 9 last year. Since term of the BDCs was co-terminus with the Panchayats, they too ceased to exist when five-year tenure of the Panchayats ended.
However, the District Development Councils whose elections were held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2020 have their term till January 2026.
The OBC Commission was set up on June 11 last year by the UT Government to determine percentage for the OBCs in Panchayats and Municipalities while the Chairman and Members were nominated on July 31.
In Government jobs and educational institutions, the Government has given eight percent reservation to the OBCs.
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