J&K Panchayati Raj Act amended to allow OBC reservation

Jammu: J&K administrative council (AC) headed by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday amended the Panchayati Raj Act to incorporate reservation for OBCs

An official statement mentioned, “The AC which met here under the chairmanship of the Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha approved carrying out amendments in Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 to incorporate definition of OBCs in the Act for ensuring their reservation in this grassroots democratic institution.

“Earlier the draft J&K Panchayati Raj Act (Amendment) Bill 2023 was submitted to MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs), GoI and observations raised by MHA were examined and necessary amendments have been incorporated in the revised draft J&K Panchayati Raj Act (Amendment) Bill.

“The Amendment bill proposes incorporation of definition of OBCs for providing reservation for the Other Backward Classes, explaining the method of disqualification from membership of Halqa Panchayat, suspension and removal of Sarpanch, Naib-Sarpanch and Panch by the Government.

“It also defines the process for removal and conditions of service of the State Election Commissioner (SEC).

“The proposed amendments aims to make the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 more effective by ensuring transparency in functioning of PRIs, constitutional alignment & consistency with practices in other states where reservation has been provided to the OBCs apart from the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes”.