SRINAGAR: On Thursday, October 31, India will wake up to one state less and two union territories more. Nearly three months after the Narendra Modi-led NDA government abrogated Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the state was officially bifurcated into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh - on the intervening night of October 30-31.
Importantly, the two UTs came into existence on the day of the birth anniversary of country’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who is credited for the merger of over 560 states into the Union of India.
October 31 is also observed as the National Unity Day and both PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will attend separate functions - in Kevadia (Gujarat) and New Delhi respectively- to mark the occasion.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, the appointed day for the two UTs was October 31 and these two UTs officially came into being in the intervening night of October 30-31 (Wednesday-Thursday), days after the government announced the daring move in Rajya Sabha on August 5.
It may be recalled that the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has been part of the Union of India since 1947.
Notable changes in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh from October 31
- On Thursday, India will wake up to one state less and 2 union territories more.
- J&K UT geography: The new J&K Union Territory will comprise the territories of current Jammu and Kashmir regions.
- Law and order will remain with the Centre, which now also has the power to declare a financial emergency under Article 360 in the state.
- LG replaces Governor: The Governor of current J&K will be the Lt Governor of the J&K and Ladakh Uts.
- J&K to function like Puducherry: The provision of Article 239A applicable to Puducherry UT will be applicable to new J&K Union Territory.
- Tenure of Assembly: New Assembly will have a term of 5 years in place of the current 6 years.
- Strength of Assembly: New Assembly will have 107 MLAs. Out of these, 24 seats will be left vacant of PoK region.
- Current Assembly: The outgoing Assembly had 111 members, in which 87 were elected members, 2 were nominated, while 24 seats in PoK were left vacant.
- Nominated members: Under the new law, LG can nominate two women representatives in the J&K Assembly if he/she feels there is an inadequate female representation.
- Rajya Sabha seats: Rajya Sabha to continue to host 4 sitting members from the current J&K
- Lok Sabha Seats: Five Lok Sabha seats have been allocated to J&K Union Territory and 1 for Ladakh UT.
- LG can reserve his consent: All the bills passed by the Assembly will be sent to LG for his consent.
- LG can give his assent, withhold it or send the bill for consideration of the President.
- Parliament to have primacy: If there is any inconsistency, Law by Parliament will prevail over any law passed by the new Assembly.
- Council of Ministers: CM will have a council of ministers consisting not more than 10% of the total members of the Assembly.
- J&K state at the 15 position has been deleted from the States List in the First Schedule of the Constitution.
- A new entry of J&K UT has been added in the Union Territories list at the 8th position in the First Schedule of the Constitution.
- Delimitation: Union government proposes delimitation of J&K Assembly.
- Govt proposes to increase the number of seats from 107 to 114.
- Delimitation would happen on the basis of 2011 census.
- High Courts: J&K and Ladakh will continue to have a common High Court.
- The day will be marked by GC Murmu being sworn in as the first lieutenant governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Another former civil servant, Radha Krishna Mathur, will take office as the lieutenant governor of Ladakh, the Buddhist-dominated region.
- While UT of Ladakh will not have an assembly and will be directly governed by the Union Home Ministry through the L-G, Kashmir will have an assembly and will largely work along the lines of the Delhi model but rules to govern the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 are yet to be notified.
- The new UTs will be born on the National Unity Day, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
- All the commission will be dissolved, state human right commission, women’s commission, information commission, accountably commission. However public service commission will stay for some time.
