Delimitation Commission notices discrepancies between official entries and actual coverage of three Jammu districts
NEW DELHI, SEPT 30: The delimitation process in Jammu and Kashmir has hit a roadblock as the Delimitation Commission has detected major discrepancies between the records of some districts in the Union Territory in respect to their official entries and actual coverage, reports a national daily Time of India.
The Commission has now asked for reconciliation of the two by the Surveyor General of India before it starts redrawing the UT’s constituency map.
Quoting sources, the national daily reported that the discrepancies were noticed when the Commission — headed by Justice (Retd) Ranjana Prakash Desai and comprising chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K state election commission chief as members (ex-officio) — visited J&K in July 2021 and interacted with district election officers of Kishtwar, Doda and Ramban.
They noticed that the area of the three districts, as finalised by the Surveyor General at the time of an administrative rejig in 2006, that increased the districts in J&K from 12 to 20 (excluding Ladakh division), was inconsistent with the reality on the ground.
“The discrepancies are most pronounced in three districts, all in Jammu division. This is possibly because the survey at the time was based purely on inputs received from administrative heads as the security situation then did not permit a physical survey by the Surveyor General of India,” said a source.
To ensure that these imperfections are corrected prior to the delimitation in a way that the administrative units are not split between two constituencies, and even the assembly constituencies do not end up as part of two parliamentary seats, the delimitation panel had called a meeting with the Surveyor General, RGI and Census Commissioner and J&K govt brass on September 16.
The commission insisted that anomalies be reconciled by the Surveyor General of India. Sources said this is now being done with the help of pre-certified details to be furnished by the J&K administration.
The option of conducting a fresh survey of the districts, possibly using remote sensing technology and drones, was discussed but ruled out as it would have prolonged the delimitation process. “The corrected area is expected to be submitted to the delimitation panel by month-end.
Once the real area is known, the population of administrative units can be determined by Census authorities. This will help the commission draw an error free map of the constituencies, including deciding on the additional seven seats,” the newspaper reported.
Once the corrected area and reworked census figures are in, the delimitation commission will work on the draft constituency map.
A BJP source indicated that going by factors like actual area, population and delimitation panel’s brief to factor in contiguous areas, topography, communication facilities and road connectivity while redrawing constituencies, five seats may be added in Jammu region and two in Kashmir. This however is a tentative figure and the final decision lies with delimitation commission, the source added.
A source said the panel aims to complete the delimitation before its extended term ends in early March 2022. However, pragmatists and past precedents indicate that public hearings may stretch for months.
