SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: The three-member Delimitation Commission set up to redraw the boundaries of assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday signed the final draft report that proposes to raise the number of assembly constituencies to 90 from 83.
The panel is headed by Justice (retired) Ranjana Prakash Desai and has Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and State Election Commissioner Kewal Kumar Sharma as its members.
Just a day before its tenure was to end, the commission, in its report, proposed to reserve seven seats for Scheduled Castes (SCs). For the first time, it has also proposed to reserve nine seats for Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the legislative assembly.
Twenty-four seats will continue to be kept vacant for the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir. However, none of the five parliamentary constituencies will be reserved for any caste or group, as per the draft report.
Out of the seven seats proposed to be increased, six seats will be allocated to the Jammu region and one seat to the Kashmir region. At present, Jammu division sends 37 members to the Assembly while Kashmir is represented by 46 MLAs.
A copy of the draft report with the proposed restructuring will be submitted to the Union Home Ministry on Thursday after which a gazette notification will be issued by the government.
Constituted in 2020, the panel was given one-year extension last year and again two months extension in February this year to complete its mandate.
Elections in Jammu and Kashmir, whose status was downgraded from a State to a Union Territory with Legislative Assembly in 2019, will be held soon after the delimitation commission submits its report, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said in the Parliament.