The Delimitation Commission said Friday that the exercise to redraw the boundaries of Assembly constituencies in the UT is a “very complex issue and not a mere athematic” after extensive discussions with J&K’s political parties, civil society groups, and NGO heads. The commission, on the other hand, stated that the process will be carried out in a transparent manner, with the commission’s draught being made public for objections and questions, and associate members of the commission being consulted for the final draught.
Members of the commission, on the other hand, hinted that the newly formed Assembly would give due representation to people from the J&K UT’s Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Cast groups. “In the past four days, the commission met 290 groups in Srinagar, Pahalgam, Kishtwar, and Jammu,” Sushil Chander, India’s Chief Election Commissioner, who is also an Ex-officio member of the J&K Delimitation Commission, said at a press conference in Jammu on the final day of the four-day visit. The response was overwhelming, and people came from far and wide to meet us. We patiently listened to each delegation.” He described the delimitation process in J&K as “a very complex issue that is not merely theoretical.”
J&K officials, according to Chander, provided them with the details of the most recent census, which was conducted in 2011, as well as patwar halqas and district areas, population figures, and other information. “There were only 12 districts in the last census in 2001, and the number of districts has now increased to 12. Similarly, there used to be only 58 tehsils, but now there are 270. We noticed that there is a lot of administrative overlap between patwar halqas, which causes a lot of problems for people,” he said.
They met not only political party leaders, but also civil society groups, lawyers, individuals, tribals, local body leaders, and NGOs’ heads, according to him.
“We are pleased to see such high levels of participation in the process. I believe that difficult terrain was not taken into account in the 1995 delimitation. The main criterion for delimitation must be population, but priority will be given to area, geography, topography, and the areas’ communication facilities,” he said.
In 1963, 1973, and 1995, assembly seats in J&K were delineated. When the state was under President’s Rule, the last exercise was conducted by the Justice (retired) K K Gupta Commission, and it was based on the 1981 census, which served as the foundation for the state elections in 1996. The state did not conduct a census in 1991, and the state government did not appoint a Delimitation Commission after the 2001 census because the J&K Assembly had passed a law prohibiting new seat delimitation until 2026.
“We’ll keep the 2011 census in mind. We have to go by the most recent census available as per the delimitation act,” he said, adding that the act ensures equal representation for the SC and ST categories.
In response to a question about PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti’s allegations that delimitation was already a pre-planned exercise with a final report ready, Commission headRetd. Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai stated that the exercise will be transparent and that there should be no fears or doubts. “We can only talk to those who want to participate in the process,” the commission chief said when asked about the PDP chief’s decision to boycott the meeting with the commission. Those who don’t want to be able to make their own decisions.”
In response to a question about when the commission will be able to prepare the final report, Ex officio member of the commission Chander stated that they have received feedback and that a draught will be prepared and made public. “We will also consult the commission’s associate members to obtain their input, after which a final draught will be prepared and made available to the public for objections and queries,” he said.
As part of its feedback mission, the commission arrived in Srinagar on July 6 for a four-day visit aimed at meeting with various political parties and civil society groups.
The Chenab Times News Desk