‘Govt making necessary arrangements to hold ULB elections in J&K’

Jammu, Feb 19: The Government on Thursday said that necessary arrangements are being made for holding Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections in Jammu & Kashmir at the earliest.
Replying to an unstarred Assembly question tabled by MLA Mir Mohammad Fayaz, the Election Department, informed that the superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections under the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 and J&K Municipal Act, 2000 vest in the State Election Commission.
The government said that the report submitted by the Dedicated Backward Classes Commission is under examination by the competent authority and further steps for conduct of Panchayat and ULB elections will be taken accordingly.
As per the reply, the term of Panchayats expired on January 9, 2024, while BDCs completed their term on January 9, 2024. The term of DDCs is set to expire on February 24, 2026.
Regarding Municipal bodies, the term of Srinagar Municipal Corporation expired on November 5, 2023, while Jammu Municipal Corporation’s term ended on November 14, 2023. The terms of other Municipal Councils and Committees expired between October and November 2023.
On delimitation, the government said that the exercise for 77 ULBs was taken up in pursuance to directions issued by the Housing & Urban Development Department. Delimitation has been completed for 72 ULBs and is under process for the remaining five.
On reservation, the reply stated that in Panchayats, reservation/rotation of Sarpanch and Panch wards will be done by the Director, Rural Development Department, Jammu/Kashmir, and can be initiated only after the OBC Commission’s report is approved and notified. For Municipal Wards, reservation/rotation will be carried out by the State Election Commission after approval of the OBC report.
The government further informed that electoral rolls for Panchayats have been revised/updated with January 1, 2025 as the qualifying date. For Municipal bodies, revision of rolls will be undertaken after completion of delimitation and on receipt of directions from the government under the J&K Municipal Corporation (Elections) Rules, 2003.
It said that the tender for purchase of election material has been completed and the process for DDC elections is underway. Around 30,000 ballot boxes have been purchased and provided to districts. An MoU has also been signed with the State Election Commission, Madhya Pradesh for providing 7,000 Multipost EVMs for conduct of ULB elections in J&K.
Replying to another part of the question, the government said that the Union Government released Rs 159.13 crore to J&K under the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA) during 2022-23 and 2023-24 for capacity building and training of PRIs, out of which Rs 109.11 crore was utilised, reflecting an expenditure of 68.56 per cent.
It added that Rs 97.42 crore was approved for 2024-25 and 2025-26; however, due to non-functioning of elected Panchayati Raj Institutions during this period, only about 15 per cent of the approved amount has been utilised so far.
The government also provided details of funds released under District Capex for DDB/BDC and PRI sectors, stating that over Rs 1.27 lakh crore was released in 2023-24, Rs 1.28 lakh crore in 2024-25 and Rs 85,265.80 lakh in 2025-26 (as on date).
The government said that necessary preparatory steps are being taken and further action regarding conduct of elections will be taken as per legal provisions and completion of required formalities. (KNO)