Delimitation in the J&K
- Category
Environment
- Published
6th Jul, 2021
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The prospects of rising political activity in J & K are rising, which give way to the formation of delimitation commission in the state.
Context
The prospects of rising political activity in J & K are rising, which give way to the formation of delimitation commission in the state.
About
About the Delimitation Commission:
- After every census, Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act under Article 82 of the Constitution.
- Under this act, a high-powered body known as the Delimitation Commission is constituted.
- It carries out the process of demarcation of constituency boundaries.
- The orders of this commission are legally binding and not subject to the scrutiny of any court of law.
- Even Parliament cannot suggest modifications to an order issued by the commission.
- The commission is a temporary body with no full-fledged staff of its own.
- It relies on EC employees to carry out the long-drawn exercise.
- Census data for each district, tehsil and gram panchayat is collected, and the new boundaries are demarcated.
- The exercise can take up to five years.
- Structure of Delimitation Commission: The commission consists of
- A chairman — a retired or sitting judge of the Supreme Court
- The chief election commissioner or any of the two election commissioners
- The election commissioner of the state in which the exercise is being carried out.
- In addition, five MPs and five MLAs of the state are chosen as associate members of the commission.
What is the process of Delimitation?
- Delimitation refers to the process of demarcation of the boundaries of parliamentary or assembly constituencies.
- The process is carried out by delimitation commission every few years to ensure that each constituency has approximately an equal number of voters.
Delimitation Commission for J&K
- The government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai.
- Delimitation in J&K has followed a slightly different trajectory than in the rest of the country, due to the special status it was accorded under Article 370.
- The delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
- On the other hand, the state’s Assembly seats was governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and by the Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
- The last time a delimitation exercise was conducted in J&K was under President’s Rule in 1995 by the retired Justice K.K. Gupta’s Commission.
- The next exercise was due in 2005, but in 2002, the Farooq Abdullah government chose to freeze delimitation until 2026 by amending the Jammu & Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957, and Section 47(3) of the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir.
A delimitation commission was first constituted for J&K in 1952. Subsequently, they were constituted in 1963, 1973 and 2002.
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How the freezing of delimitation is contentious?
- It is argued that the freeze enforced in 2002 has led to poorer representation for Jammu
- The delimitation of J&K is a politically volatile issue since it is directly related to the representation of Muslim-dominated Kashmir and Hindu-dominated Jammu in the legislative assembly.