ULB, panchayat polls to be held at earliest but SEC post still vacant: CM Abdullah

Jammu, Feb 09: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that the government is making necessary arrangements to hold elections to urban local bodies and panchayats in the Union territory at the earliest, but said the post of state election commissioner is presently vacant.
In a written reply to a question of Congress MLA Tariq Hameed Karra in the Legislative Assembly, Abdullah said the superintendence, direction and control of preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections under the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, J&K Municipal Act and J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000, rests with the State Election Commission (SEC).
“The Commission (SEC) is making necessary arrangements for holding panchayat and urban local bodies elections at the earliest. However, the position of state election commissioner is lying vacant at present,” he said, adding that the report submitted by the Jammu and Kashmir Local Bodies Dedicated Backward Classes Commission for determining the quota of reserved seats is under examination, and further steps will be taken accordingly.
CM Abdullah informed the House that the term of panchayats and block development councils (BDCs) expired on January 9, while the district development council (DDC) term will end on February 24. He said the tenure of the Srinagar municipal corporation ended on November 5, 2023, while the term of Jammu’s civic body also ended in the same month on November 14.
Terms of all municipal councils and committees expired between October and November 2023, the CM added.
Abdullah said that panchayat halqas were delimited prior to the 2018 Panchayat elections on the basis of the 2011 census. “As per the panchayati raj act, fresh delimitation of panchayat halqas can be undertaken only after publication of the population figures of the general census. Since no census has been conducted after 2011, there is no proposal for fresh delimitation at present,” he said.
He further said delimitation of 77 urban local bodies (ULBs) has been taken up as per instructions of the housing and urban development department, adding that the process has been completed for 72 ULBs and is underway for the remaining five.
On the reservation, the CM said rotation of sarpanch and panch wards will be carried out by the rural development department, while reservation of municipal wards will be undertaken by the SEC after approval and notification of the OBC commission report.
He said that electoral rolls for panchayat elections have already been revised with January 1, 2025, as the qualifying date, while revision of municipal electoral rolls will be taken up after completion of delimitation and directions from the government.
Abdullah also informed that the tender process for the procurement of election material for panchayat polls has been completed and is underway for DDC elections.
He said 30,000 ballot boxes have been purchased and distributed to districts, while an MoU has been signed with the Madhya Pradesh State Election Commission for providing 7,000 multi-post electronic voting machines for ULB elections.
Highlighting reforms in the panchayati raj system, Abdullah said the Union territory has operationalised a three-tier structure with elections conducted for 4,291 sarpanches and 33,597 panchs, besides the constitution of BDCs and DDCs.
He said the government has undertaken construction of 600 panchayat bhawans with internet connectivity and trained over 7.25 lakh participants in governance, planning and financial management between 2022 and 2025. Amendments to the laws have ensured reservation for women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes, he added.
Abdullah further said that digital platforms such as eGramSwaraj and initiatives like the SVAMITVA scheme have been introduced to enhance transparency, accountability and provide a record of rights to rural households.