Day one of the bifurcation of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh presented a contrasting picture as both Jammu and Ladakh regions witnessed celebrations while normal life remained paralysed in different parts of Kashmir amid continuous shutdown since August 5.
The new UTs came into existence 72 years after then ruler Maharaja Hari Singh executed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947, making it part of India.
Girish Chandra Murmu in Jammu & Kashmir and Radha Krishna Mathur in Ladakh stepped into history as the first Lieutenant Governors of the new Union Territories as the entire nation celebrated the birth anniversary of country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is credited for merger of over 560 States into the Union of India.
Jammu & Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath of office to the new appointees, first in Leh and then later in Srinagar.
Senior administrative, police and Army officers attended both the oath ceremonies in respective places.
With the creation of new Union territories, a total of 106 Central Laws, which were enacted by Parliament from time to time, will become applicable to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.
Moreover, 164 State Laws including Governor’s Acts will automatically get repealed. Among the 164 State Laws, which are going to become redundant, are those which were enacted by the State Legislature from time to time on the lines of similar laws passed by Parliament of India either keeping in view the public demand or on the basis of issues raised in the Legislature by the legislators.
With the creation of two new Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, the radio stations too have been renamed. Radio Station situated in Jammu is renamed as the All India Radio, Jammu. While stations in Srinagar and Leh have also been renamed as the All India Radio, Srinagar and All India Radio Leh, respectively.
“With the approval of Prasar Bharati Board, the nomenclature has been changed from ‘Radio Kashmir’ to ‘All India Radio’ in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh,” said the twitter handle of Prasar Bharati. This change comes into effect from October 31, 2019, the missive said.
The Centre will be in direct control of the police and the law and order in Jammu & Kashmir from Thursday while the land will be under the elected Government. In the Union Territory, Jammu & Kashmir will have 90-seat Legislative Assembly while Ladakh hasn’t been granted Legislature. However, the existing two districts of Ladakh including Leh and Kargil will continue to have Autonomous Hill Development Councils.
The UT of Ladakh will be under the direct control of the Central Government which will administer the high altitude region through the L-G. The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 says the all India Services like the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), of J&K cadre will continue to serve in the two succeeding UTs while new recruits of these services will be allocated in the Arunachal, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre. The provincial service officers will continue serving in their current positions till a new order is issued by the Lt Governors for the two new UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The IAS, IPS and other Central service officers and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will be under the control of the L-G and not the elected Government of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. In addition seven State commissions, including Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission (SHRC), State Information Commission (SIC), State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC), State Commission for Protection of Women and Child Rights (SCPWCR), State Commission for Persons with Disabilities (SCPwD) and State Accountability Commission (SAC) also cease to exist with effect from October 31.
Due to winding up of seven State Commissions by the Government as per the provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, uncertainty is prevailing over the disposal of nearly 4000 cases pending in these statutory bodies in the absence of any official word from the administration about the future course of action.
The General Administration Department had issued different orders on October 23, 2019, mentioning that consequent upon the repeal of several State Acts by the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019, sanction has been accorded to the winding up of seven State Commissions with effect from October 31, 2019-the appointed date for the formation of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. Through these Government orders, the Secretaries of these seven Commissions were directed to transfer all records pertaining to their respective statutory bodies to the concerned Administrative Departments. Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory was expected to stay without the Legislative Assembly for quite some time as the Government will have to set up the Delimitation Commission first before holding elections to first Assembly of the UT. The delimitation of Assembly constituencies could take 14 months. J&K State had 87-member Legislative Assembly and 36-member Legislative Council. The Council has been abolished. As Ladakh had four Assembly seats, Jammu and Kashmir’s Assembly will now have seven additional seats as it has been granted 90-seat Assembly. In addition, it has 24 seats reserved for Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Assembly will continue to have two seats reserved for Women. While Scheduled Castes had seven seats reserved for them in the State Assembly, in the new House, the Scheduled Tribes will also get reservations. The Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir UT have been reduced from six to five as Ladakh UT will have one Lok Sabha seat. Kashmir division has three Lok Sabha seats and Jammu two. However, the Rajya Sabha quota of J&K’s four seats will continue. Term of the Legislative Assembly will be five years instead of six years previously. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu was presented ceremonial Guard of Honour, when he visited Civil Secretariat for the first time after assuming office. The Lieutenant Governor interacted with Commissioner Secretaries and Heads of Departments who briefed him about the government functioning and developmental activities being carried in Jammu and Kashmir.