Panchayat, ULB elections depend on Panel’s report
*Will decide %age of reservation to OBCs in Local Body polls
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Dec 27: The OBC Commission set up to determine percentage for the OBCs in the Local Bodies has only four days left of its second time extended tenure and whether it will be able to meet December 31, 2024 deadline to submit report to the Government or not is being watched keenly by the political parties as conduct of Panchayat and Municipal elections depend on its report.
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Justice (Retired) Janak Raj Kotwal, Chairman of the Commission told the Excelsior that they are on the job.
“We are sitting in the office (working on the report). There are still two working days left. Let’s see what happens,’’ Kotwal said.
Headed by Kotwal, the Commission comprised Raj Kumar Bhagat, a retired IAS officer and Prof Mohinder Singh Bhadwal. Ex Dean SKUAS-Jammu as the Members, The Panel visited several areas during past few months and interacted with people and their representatives to elicit their opinion on the OBC population.
However, as per the sources, the Commission has very tough task in the hand in the absence of census and conflicting data with some of the departments on the OBC population.
In Government jobs and educational institutions, the Government has given eight percent reservation to the OBCs after the Parliament passed a bill extending reservations to the OBCs for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in February this year. Earlier, there were no reservations to the OBCs but four percent reservation was given to Other Social Castes (OSCs).
The Parliament also gave nod to the bill extending reservations to the OBCs in all three tiers of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) including District Development Councils (DDCs), Block Development Councils (BDCs) and Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
Subsequently, the OBC Commission was set up on June 11 this year by the UT Government to determine percentage for the OBCs in Panchayats and Municipalities while the Chairman and Members were nominated on July 31.
Submission of report by the OBC Commission is mandatory before initiating the exercise for conducting Panchayat and Municipal elections. Presently, the women have 33 percent reservations in Urban and Rural Local Bodies while SCs and STs have been given reservations based on population.
“Once the Commission submits its report, the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department will undertake an exercise to reserve the Wards for women, SCs, STs and OBCs in Panchayats followed by delimitation, if required,” the officials said.
Because of the reservations to OBCs for the first time in these bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, elections to Panchayats and Municipalities, which were due to be held in October-November last year, have been delayed.
The Municipalities, Panchayats and BDCs are now without elected members for more than one year. While term of the Municipalities ended in October-November last year, the Panchayats completed their tenure on January 9 this year. Since term of the BDCs was co-terminus with the Panchayats, they too ceased to exist when five-year tenure of the Panchayats ended.
However, the District Development Councils whose elections were held for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir in December 2020 have their term till January 2026.
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