SRINAGAR: The cabinet will soon decide on the recommendations of a three-member panel regarding reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
Quoting sources, KNO reported that the panel’s report will be presented to the cabinet for a final decision. “The report is being put up for cabinet approval after receiving consent from the concerned ministers,” they said, adding that the implementation of the panel’s findings is expected to proceed swiftly once approved.
The three-member panel, headed by Justice (Retd) Janak Raj Kotwal, and including Raj Kumar Baghat (retired IAS officer) and Prof Mohinder Singh Badwal (former dean, SKUAST, Jammu), submitted its report to Chief Secretary Atul Dulloo on February 27.
The cabinet’s decision on the report is significant as it could pave the way for the long-awaited local body elections in the Union Territory. The five-year term of local bodies in J&K ended in January 2014, leaving officials to exercise powers previously held by elected representatives of Panchayats and ULBs.
The delay in the polls has been attributed to the issue of OBC reservation. In February 2024, Parliament amended JK’s Panchayat and Municipal laws to grant reservation for OBCs. Following these amendments, the LG-led Administrative Council set up a three-member panel to finalize the reservation framework for OBCs in local bodies. (KNO)
