SRINAGAR: In a significant development, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Jammu & Kashmir unveiled a draft reservation proposal on Tuesday for 77 urban local bodies (ULBs) in the Union Territory.
According to the official notification released by the CEO’s office, the proposal focuses on reserving wards for women, scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes within the ULBs.
Citizens and stakeholders have been granted a seven-day window to provide their objections and suggestions concerning the proposal. These can be submitted at the CEO’s office, with authorities eager to receive public feedback to refine the reservations appropriately.
In JK’s 1119 wards across 77 municipal bodies, a total of 358 seats have been reserved for women.
The CEO has recommended reserving 25 out of a total of 74 wards for women in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation. For the Jammu Municipal Corporation, the proposal includes reservations for 25 wards for women, 10 for Scheduled Castes, and two for Scheduled Tribes.
In the Municipal Council of Kupwara, four seats are designated for women, while in Bandipora, six seats are proposed to be reserved. Both the municipal councils of Baramulla and Sopore will feature seven seats each reserved for women.
Additionally, the Municipal Council of Ganderbal will have six reserved seats for women, while the Municipal Council of Budgam will feature four such seats. Meanwhile, the Municipal Council of Pulwama will reserve four seats for women, Shopian six, Kulgam four, and Anantnag eight seats dedicated to female representation.
In Kishtwar, four seats will be reserved for women, and in Doda, which has 17 seats in total, six will be reserved for women, and one for Scheduled Castes (SC).
The proposal extends its coverage to various other municipalities, with Ramban allocating two seats for women, Udhampur with seven for women and three for SC.
Reasi has been allocated four seats for women, and Kathua with seven.
In Poonch, six seats are designated for women, and one seat for Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Rajouri will see the reservation of six seats for women, one for SC, and two for ST.
The municipal polls in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to be held in October-November this year.
