Even as the first meeting of the Delimitation Commission was boycotted by three Lok Sabha members of the National Conference, still panel members have decided to move with the work and complete task assigned to them.
Sources said that after the first meeting, members of the panel have started processing the collection of data about all regions and sub-regions of J&K in order to make a draft proposal for Assembly and draw Lok Sabha constituencies. Sources informed that population will not be the only criteria that will be considered to redraw Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in the Union Territory of J&K. The Delimitation Commission will consider all criteria before finalizing the draft proposal.
Section 60 of the J&K Reorganization Act states that the population would not be the only criteria to redraw new assembly boundaries. There will be many criteria that will be considered and the population is one of many components. Sources said that area, geographical compactness, terrain, means of communication and allied sectors would also be taken into considerations while re-shaping assembly boundaries in J&K.
There have been ongoing debates about criteria adopted by the proposed panel to fix new Assembly and Lok Sabha boundaries after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) initiated setting-up of a Delimitation Commission on UT of J&K. The Delimitation Commission is all set to increase Assembly seats from 107 to 117. The panel is planning to increase seven seats while 24 seats will be reserved for the people of Pakistan occupied Jammu-Kashmir (POJK).
