Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 4: All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) today raised strong concern over the increasingly overburdened administration in the Union Territory, directly attributing it to a severe shortage of ministers in the Council of Ministers.
Addressing a press conference here today AJKPC president, Anil Sharma, appealed to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to immediately expand his ministerial team by filling up all the vacant posts to ensure smooth and efficient governance.
Sharma highlighted the huge workload on the administration, noting that a mere six ministers, including the Chief Minister, are currently responsible for governing Jammu and Kashmir’s population of approximately 1.5 crore. Such a small cabinet is handling two big administrative divisions, 20 districts, more than 100 departments, Public Sector Undertakings and corporations, 207 tehsils, and about 6,800 villages.
Sharma said, “This situation can’t work anymore, each minister is burdened with five to six critical departments. No individual, howmuch efficient, can provide the necessary attention, review, timely decision-making, and field supervision that each of these portfolios demands. This leads to delays, poor monitoring and files piling up everywhere and ultimately, public suffering in cities, villages of Kashmir and Jammu.
AJKPC leader questioned the political reason behind the delay in expansion of Council of Minister. “With 41 MLAs in an 90-member House, the National Conference (NC) has a comfortable strength. Yet, for over a year, the Chief Minister has chosen not to use the full strength (Nine ministers) allowed under the Constitution, he said.
Citing constitutional provisions, Sharma clarified that the law permits a Union Territory to have a Council of Ministers comprising up to 10% of the total Legislative Assembly strength. With 90 members, this allows for a team of up to nine ministers, including the Chief Minister. He also referred to Section 53 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which enshrines this provision. There is there is no legal or administrative hurdle at all for this prolonged hesitation. The legal framework is clear, and the administrative need is urgent, Sharma asserted.
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