NEW DELHI: The Delimitation Commission, which met on Thursday to discuss the suggestions of the five J&K MPs — also its associate members — on the J&K delimitation draft, has agreed to restore Habba Kadal assembly constituency in Srinagar and Suchetgarh assembly constituency in Jammu, besides dispensing with its proposal to rename Inderwal assembly seat in Kishtwar as Mughal Maidan.
While the suggestion to restore the Habba Kadal assembly segment — which has a sizeable population of Kashmiri Pandits — in the Srinagar parliamentary constituency was made by the National Conference MPs, BJP MP from Jammu Jugal Kishore Sharma had sought Suchetgarh, which as per the delimitation proposal was to be merged with R S Pora, to be restored as a standalone assembly constituency and R S Pora to be included in Jammu (South) assembly constituency. As for doing away with the proposed renaming of Inderwal assembly constituency as Mughal Maidan, both the NC and BJP MPs unanimously asked for the original name to be retained.
The restoration of these assembly constituencies may require a slight readjustment and redrawing of their boundaries. The return of Habba Kadal assembly constituency may involve replacing the new Srinagar (South) assembly segment proposed in the draft, though the composition may more or less remain the same. With Suchetgarh back on the constituency map, R S Pora may now form part of the Jammu (South) assembly constituency. Local BJP members had been protesting against the proposed merger of Suchetgarh into R S Pora assembly seat.
The delimitation commission — which has retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai as its chairperson and chief election commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K state election commission chief as its ex-officio members — is also said to have accepted some other suggestions of the associate members regarding inclusion and exclusion of certain villages or patwars in the proposed assembly segments, citing factors like terrain, accessibility and other issues. The panel has thus factored in the views of each of the associate members to the extent it could, said a source.
The reworked draft, incorporating the accepted suggestions, will be shared with the associate members on Friday, for their views. In case they okay the reworked draft, it will be placed in the public domain; if any further changes are suggested, they too will be considered. Once the suggestions from the public are received, public hearings will be held by the delimitation panel. The delimitation award is expected to be given before the term of the commission ends in early May.
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