Srinagar, Dec 26 (KNO): Ending weeks of speculation over the fate of the District Development Councils (DDCs), the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has opined that the five-year tenure of the councils began on the day of their constitution- a ruling that sets their dissolution date at February 24, 2026.
Citing Sub-Rule (2) and Sub-Rule (3) of Rule 108ZP of the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, the Department of Law has clarified that the District Development Councils shall be deemed to be duly constituted from the date of issuance of the notification for their constitution, sources told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
Sub-Rule (2) provides that, upon receipt of the names of the elected members, Chairpersons, and Vice-Chairpersons, the Government shall, by notification, constitute District Development Council(s) bearing the name of the concerned district. Sub-Rule (3) states that upon issuance of such notification under Sub-Rule (2), the District Development Council shall be deemed to be duly constituted.
The Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj issued notifications for their constitution on February 25, 2021. With the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs opining that their term begins from the date of their constitution, the Councils will cease to exist on February 24, 2026. The Department of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj had sought clarification from the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on whether the five-year term should be counted from the date of their constitution (February 25, 2021) or from the oath-taking (December 28, 2020).
As per the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, the term of a District Development Council shall be five years, except in cases where common elections are held to all tiers of the Panchayats simultaneously so that all tiers have co-extensive terms in the district.
On October 16, 2020, the Union Government amended the Jammu & Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 to provide for the setting up of District Development Councils. The law was amended through an executive order by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), invoking the powers vested in it under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
Each DDC comprises 14 elected members. With J&K having 20 districts, the total strength of elected DDC members is 280. In the first-ever DDC elections held in November–December 2020, the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) won 110 seats, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats—(KNO)