New Delhi: The Delimitation Commission on Jammu and Kashmir, headed by Justice (retd) Ranjana Desai submitted its final report Thursday. The three-member Delimitation Commission has recommended increasing the number of Assembly seats in the Kashmir region to 47 from the previous 46. While in the Jammu region the number of seats has been increased to 43 from the earlier 37. With this, Jammu and Kashmir will now have 90 Assembly constituencies, reported news agency PTI.
A copy of this order and the report, detailing the number of constituencies and their size, will be submitted to the government after which the order will be issued through a gazette notification.
The recommendation will increase the total number of seats in the UT from 83 to 90. The 24 seats in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) will continue to remain vacant.
It is also for the first time that nine seats have been proposed for Scheduled Tribes by the commission to improve their representation in the assembly.
According to news agency ANI, The Delimitation Commission two weeks ago had accepted certain suggestions made by five associate members from Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, including National Conference Lok Sabha MPs Farooq Abdullah, Hasnain Masoodi and Akbar Lone and BJP MPs Jitendra Singh and Jugal Kishore.
Since being formed in March 2020, the Delimitation Commission has faced objections from opposition parties and some local residents. A petition was moved in the Supreme Court in March challenging the increase of the number of seats in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
(With agency inputs)