Umer Maqbool
Srinagar, Dec 13: In a significant development, the Jammu & Kashmir Government has sought a legal opinion to determine when the five-year term of District Development Councils (DDCs) began, a decision which will decide on the date of their dissolution.
Authoritative sources said that the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has written to the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs to clarify whether the DDCs tenure started the day members took oath or from the day the Councils were constituted.
The legal opinion would answer whether the DDCs expire on December 27, 2025 or survive until February 24, 2026.
While the DDC members were administered oath on December 28, 2020, the DDCs were constituted on February 25, 2021
The legal opinion would answer whether the DDCs expire on December 27, 2025 or survive until February 24, 2026.
As per Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act- 1989, the term of District Development Council shall be five years except for holding common elections to all the tiers of the Panchayats simultaneously so that all the tiers have co-extensive terms in the district.
While the Act clearly stipulates that the term of Panchayats begins from the date of their constitution, no such clarity exists for DDCs.
It is also clear in law that there is a deadline for administering the oath to elected members.
According to the Act, the Deputy Commissioner must, within one week of the declaration of results, convene a meeting of the elected members for the purpose of administering them oath.
On October 16, 2020, the Union Government amended the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act-1989 to provide for setting up of District Development Councils.
The law was amended through an executive order by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) invoking the powers vested with it under Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act-2019.
Each DDC comprises 14 elected members. With J&K having 20 districts, the total strength of elected DDC members is 280.
In the first -ever DDC election held in November- December 2020, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) won 110 seats, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party by getting 75 seats.
