NEW DELHI: Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home, introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha aiming to give due representation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) by providing reservation in panchayat and municipal bodies in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The proportion of reserved seats will be determined by a commission formed after the passage of the bill by the Parliament. Right now, there is no reservation for OBCs in both panchayat and urban local bodies.
The Statement of Objects and Reasons of The Jammu and Kashmir Local Bodies Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, reads, “With this, justice will be ensured to the citizens of Other Backward Classes of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time after 75 years of Independence.”
The bill seeks to amend some of the provisions of the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, the J&K Municipal Act, 2000, and the J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000, to give effect to the provisions of Part IX and IXA of the Constitution of India.