*PM Modi has done his job in 2019 and now it is for DC to do a fair Delimitation *
*Task with DC for UT of J&K is very challenging since it needs serious corrections to earlier wrongs*
DAYA SAGAR
The Common man of UT of J&K is very hopefully waiting for the day the Delimitation Commission (DC) for UT of J&K would issue an order in true fairness with the constitutionally laid down codes/ laws/ parameters. But surely the present Delimitation commission for UT of J&K will have to work hard to execute the job which is surely first of its class that any DC may have taken so far in India.
A Delimitation Commission ( DC) for a Legislative Assembly is not a simple court where people have to lay down their case for justice or redressal of grievance and plead . Instead DC is body appointed by government to execute an assignment as per the parameters/ indicators constitutionally laid down in law after obtaining all types needed data / information , analysing the same, then laying down the real maps of the individual single member assembly segments of a Legislative Assembly and finalising the same only after taking opinion (though opinions not binding ) of the stake holders. The responsibility on the DC is so huge since its final order cannot be challenged in any court of law (Section-60(5-c) of Act 34 of 2019) where as even judgement order of HC or SC can further be challenged.
- The task before the present Delimitation Commission for UT of J&K is of the class the type of which no any Delimitation Commission in India might have had before it in the past since this DC has to in a way apply ‘even serious’ surgical corrections earlier WRONGs keeping in view the information as regards history of delimitations done upto 1995 & also likely illusions that may be there due to unfair administrative orders of erstwhile J&K State like reorganisations of District in 1979 and 2007.
All apprehensions and misunderstandings carried by some ‘People’ that population is the only criteria for deciding the limits of MLA constituency need to be set on rest once for all since had it been so then J&K /UT of J&K would have only 30 or so constituencies keeping in view that UP has 403 MLAs
A. Wrongs To be brief the wrongs of earlier Delimitation commissions could be seen in facts like
(i) No pointedly fixing parameters were available for delimiting the segments of Constituent Assembly of J&K in 1951 except the order of the Regent of J&K that representatives in the constituent assembly be taken 1951 @ 40000 souls per constituency on the basis of 1941 Census population ( 4051158) . But 43 seats were kept for areas in Kashmir Valley so erroneously assuming that 17,20,000 population out of total population 17,28,686 was still left in areas of Valley not occupied by Pakistan even after excluding Muzaffrabad District , 2 seats for areas in Ladakh Region and only 30 seats for other areas ( Jammu province ) so erroneously assuming that only 12,00,000 population out of total population 20,10, 557 was left in areas of Jammu province excluding Mirpur District occupied by Pakistan
(ii) Anyhow in 1957 J&K Representation of Peoples Act was enacted laying down very clearly the guidelines / parameters {Section- 4, Sub Section -2, Clause a(i) : Population , a (ii ) : Geographical Compactness, a ( iii) :Nature of Terrain ,a ( iv) : Facilities of Communication, a ( v): And like considerations . Ofcourse Population is mentioned for reference but it is not prime factor as regards allocating a single member constituency of the Legislative Assembly to the population of an area, no doubt population is the only factor for deciding the number of constituencies to be reserved for SC/ST and marking the constituencies to be reserved for SC/ST/} for Delimiting the Single Member Segments of the Legislative Assembly of J&K (MLAs). It was expected that after 1957 Delimitation for the Legislative Assembly will be got done as per the JKRPA of 1957 but so unfairly the adhoc distribution done for constituent assembly was in a way was also carried irrationally for Legislative Assembly also.
Not only that, even when as per J&K Constitution the number of MLAs for direct election with provision for delimitation of constituencies after every 10 years were mentioned for whole of J&K State as a unit (in 75 MLAs for all the three regions in 1957) but keeping in view the habitations & stretches of J&K as regards the Legislative Council as per Section-50 of J&K Constitution the elected MLCs were kept region wise i.e 12 elected MLCs for Kashmir Valley and 16 Elected MLCs for areas outside Kashmir Valley ( 14 elected MLCs for Jammu Region and 2 MLCs for Ladakh Region) it was expected that future Delimitation Commissions would someday undo the wrong distribution done at the time of constituting Constituent Assembly of J&K / that done thereafter. But still the MLAs outside Kashmir Valley were kept less than Kashmir valley through adhoc delimitations as well as the regular delimitation process that was started in 1981 and completed in 1995 totally flouting laid down law in the J&K Representation of Peoples Act 1957 and so blindly ignoring the fact that the areas outside Kashmir Valley had constitutionally more (14) elected MLCs and Kashmir valley had less (only 12) MLCs.
B. Illusions : Similarly it may not be unfair to say that the earlier government in J&K had remained Kashmir Valley centric and enjoyed even the confidence of governments in Delhi since the GOI had not even taken notice of the irrational reorganisations of the districts being done by J&K Governments where under the first reorganisation 2 districts of Kashmir Valley ( 15948 sq km Anantnag and Baramulla) were reorganised into 3 districts ( Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla ) & 4 Districts and 2 Jagirs (26293 sq km Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi , Poonch Jagir, Chenani Jagir ) were reorganised into 6 Districts ( Poonch, Rajouri, Jammu, Kathua, Udhampur, Doda) but so irrationally through executive orders in 1979 districts in Kashmir valley were increased from 3 to 6 ( Anantnag, Pulwama, Srinagar, Badgam, Baramulla and Bandipora) without increasing districts in Jammu Region. Inspite of the fact that Wazir Commission in 1984 recommended for increasing districts in Jammu Region from 6 to 9 the State government in 2006-07 once again so irrationally increased the districts in Kashmir Valley from 6 to 10 and in Jammu Region also from 6 to only 10. Such type of data on ground is surely going to mislead any commission unless the Commission ventures into real investigations /cross checking of the ground information as regards physicals. - The present Delimitation Commission has to Delimit 90 single member segments for the first Legislative Assembly of J&K in terms of Section -60 (2) of J&K Reorganisation Act of 2019 , Act 34 of 2019But the way the reports have appeared in the media through unofficial sources on 21st Dec 2021 and on 4/5 Feb 2022 it appears that job is still half done since (i) DC has delimited only 7 increased seats over the earlier 83 seats that the areas now in UT of J&K had while in J&K state delimitation commission has to delimit all the 90 segments, any adjustment of some segments that has been done is more so in view of the new constituencies to be created and the due to the boundaries of new 8 districts carved out in 2006-2007 (ii) As per the unofficial reports DC has retained 47 MLA seats in Kashmir valley districts and distributed only 43 MLA seats over areas outside Kashmir Valley which surely deserved more MLA seats than Kashmir valley. How the areas that had constitutionally more elected MLCs can have lesser MLAs shall have to be explained by the D. Commission ?.
- As already said population is only one of the 5 parameters and even if as per 2011 census population of the Kashmir Valley districts is more than the areas outside Kashmir Valley the areas outside Kashmir Valley still deserve more MLAs in terms of Sub Section(2) of Section-60 of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act of 2019, Act no 34{(a) all the constituencies shall be single-member constituencies; (b) all constituencies shall, as far as practicable, be geographically compact areas, and in delimiting them, regard shall be had to physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facilities of communication and conveniences to the public;}.
Those who profess for population to be main factor should with cool mind try to understand why a MLA from Uttar Pradesh voting in Presidential Election carries a vote value of 208 and that from J&K carried a vote value of just 72 ? ( UP 208, Jharkhand 176, J&K 72, HP 51, Sikkim 7) . And a MP carries vote value of 708 whether one belongs to UP or J&K or Sikkim. - Of course the Associate Members ( MPs from J&K , although they do not have any voting right ) and Election Commissioner of J&K do have added responsibility see that other members of DC are provided fair and adequate view of the ground data to enable them have real feel of the requirements of the areas in terms of the guidelines laid in the relevant laws for delimitation of the MLA segments of a Legislative Assembly worth doing a fair exercise that the people are hoping to be there in 2022 . otherwise How the areas that had constitutionally more elected MLCs can have lesser MLAs shall have to be explained by the Delimitation Commission ?.Through delimitation the DC has to provide a representative of nearness in time & distance to the voter citizen.
(The author is Sr Journalist &
leading scribe J&K affairs dayasagr45@yahoo.com).