J&K Delimitation Commission makes report public, invites suggestions

The Delimitation Commission, mandated to redraw the assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, put its report in the public domain on Monday and invited objections and suggestions from people.

The Delimitation Commission has published its report in the gazettes of India as well as Jammu and Kashmir regarding the proposals.

"The Commission invites objections and suggestions in relation to the same", Commission Secretary K N Bhar said in the notification.

According to the notification, any objections and suggestions regarding the proposals should reach the secretary, Delimitation Commission Office on or before on March 21.

These (suggestions) will be considered by the Commission during public sittings in the Union Territory on March 28 and 29, it said.

"The location and timings of the aforesaid hearings will be notified separately", it added.

The copies of the gazette are available for reference with the chief electoral officer of Jammu & Kashmir and the election officials in all the districts of the UT.

The Commission was given two months extension on March 6 and had to submit a report before May 6.

According to the draft proposal which was put in public domain on Monday, there has been no increase in the number of Lok Sabha seats in J&K.

Similarly, there is no reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the parliamentary seats of the union territory, it said.

The report said the total number of seats in the assembly has been increased to 90 with reservation of seven seats for SCs and nine for STs.

The Jammu division will have Jammu-Reasi and Udhampur-Doda constituencies while the Kashmir division will have Srinagar-Budgam and Baramulla-Kupwara.

Anantnag-Poonch seat will be part of both the divisions, the draft said.

The three-member commission, which was setup in March 2020 and was headed by Justice (Retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai, proposed six more seats in the Jammu region and only one additional seat in Kashmir in proposed 90-member house.

Kashmir will be have 47 seats and Jammu region 43 seats.