JAMMU AND KASHMIR REORGANISATION ACT 2019

WHY IN NEWS:

• J&K Reorganization Act 2019 completed its first year on August 5, 2020. The Act revoked the special status of J&K along with its statehood.

BACKGROUND:

• Parliament had only residuary powers of legislation in J&K.
• This included enacted of laws to prevent terror and secessionist activities, for taxation on foreign and inland travel and on communication.
• Ministry of Home Affairs had introduced two bills and two resolutions in August 2019 regarding Jammu & Kashmir ending its special status in the Indian Union
• These are as follows:
  • Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 issued by President of India to supersede the 1954 order related to Article 370.
  • Resolution for Repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution of India
  • Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019
  • Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019.

SALIENT FEATURES  OF J&K REORGANIZATION ACT 2019:

• Reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir:
  • The Bill reorganises the state of Jammu and Kashmir into:
    • (i) Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature, and
    • (ii) Union Territory of Ladakh without a legislature.
    • The Union Territory of Ladakh will comprise Kargil and Leh districts, and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will comprise the remaining territories of the existing state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Lieutenant Governor:
  • The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will be administered by the President, through an administrator appointed by him known as the Lieutenant Governor.
  • The Union Territory of Ladakh will be administered by the President, through a Lieutenant Governor appointed by him.
• Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir:
  • The Bill provides for a Legislative Assembly for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • The total number of seats in the Assembly will be 107.  Of these, 24 seats will remain vacant on account of certain areas of Jammu and Kashmir being under the occupation of Pakistan.
  • Further, seats will be reserved in the Assembly for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • In addition, the Lieutenant Governor may nominate two members to the Legislative Assembly to give representation to women, if they are not adequately represented.
  • The Assembly will have a term of five years, and the Lieutenant Governor must summon the Assembly at least once in six months.
  • The Legislative Assembly may make laws for any part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir related to:
    • (i) any matters specified in the State List of the Constitution, except “Police” and “Public Order”
    • (ii) any matter in the Concurrent List applicable to Union Territories
    • Further, Parliament will have the power to make laws in relation to any matter for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
•  Council of Ministers:
  • The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a Council of Ministers of not more than ten percent of the total number of members in the Assembly.
  • The Council will aide and advise the Lieutenant Governor on matters that the Assembly has powers to make laws.  The Chief Minister will communicate all decisions of the Council to the Lieutenant Governor.
• High Court:
  • The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir will be the common High Court for the Union Territories of Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.
  • Further, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have an Advocate General to provide legal advice to the government of the Union Territory.
• Legislative Council:
  • The Legislative Council of the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be abolished.  Upon dissolution, all Bills pending in the Council will lapse.
• Extent of laws:
  • The Schedule lists 106 central laws that will be made applicable to Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on a date notified by the central government.
  • These include the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Right to Education Act, 2009.
  • Further, it repeals 153 state laws of Jammu and Kashmir.

NEED FOR RE-ORGANIZATION:

• Article 370 is of discriminatory nature:
  • Article 370 has prevented J&K to merge with India rather than being a basis of its merger.
  • Article 370 was seen as discriminatory on the basis of gender, class, caste and place of origin.
  • For example Article 35A was discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir
• Increased investment:
  • Post the repeal of the Article 370, doors to private investment in J&K would be opened, which would in turn increase the potential for development there.
  • Increased investments would lead to increased job creation and further betterment of socio-economic infrastructure in the state.
  • Opening of buying of lands would bring in investments from private individuals and multinational companies and give a boost to the local economy
• Argument for equality:
  • Hindu Succession Act that gave women equal inheritance rights as men, reservation to ST/SCs in assembly etc will now be applicable in the region
• To improve security situation in the region:
  • Centre government and central security agencies will be having a greater control over the UT as compared to a state

CONCERNS:

• Arbitrary move:
  • A purported process to change the constitutional status of a sensitive border State has been achieved without any legislative input or representative contribution from its people.
  • They arguments that the move violates of Federal principle and Article 3 of the Constitution of India

• Delay in announcement of elections:
  • Government implied that all the measures including the shutdown of communication services were temporary measures. However, even after nearly a year, the assembly elections are yet to be announced.

• Criticism from international rights organization:
  • There has also been widespread criticism of the government by International Rights organisations over the lockdown in Kashmir and the house arrest of mainstream political leaders
  • For example Amnesty International urged the government to ease restrictions on communication channels and the media in the state, and to release political leaders.

• Not much improvement in security situation
  • Decision to make a State a Union Territory on security grounds does not match with recent facts.
  • There are fresh reports of attempted infiltration from northern Kashmir.
  • Continuing the present scale of deployment of security forces in the Kashmir Valley with a communications shutdown in the long term is untenable.

• Not much improvement in attracting investment:
  • It is evident from the postponement, because of security concerns, of the much publicised J&K Global Investors' Summit 2020 which was scheduled to be held in October 2020
  • It is highly unlikely that Indian investors, let alone global, will come to the Union Territory in an environment of high risk.

• There is very little correlation between Central aid to the former State and reduced disaffection:
  • Economic packages announced after the abrogation of Article 370 may not work well
  • Similar economic packages were given by the Central government in the 1950s and 1960s
  • Yet this period was characterised by widespread curfews and protests.

• Removal of the special status under Article 370 may actually reduce the Central government powers over the region:
  • In earlier arrangement centre has more powers in many matters. For example
    • National emergency in J&K could still be imposed on the grounds of ‘internal emergency’
    • During Governor’s Rule in the State, the Jammu and Kashmir constitution gave unlimited powers to the Governor
    • While for the rest of the country, freedom of speech could be curtailed only through ‘reasonable restrictions’, in J&K, it could be controlled through restrictions that ‘appropriate legislature considered reasonable
  • Removal of article 370 will take away all these flexibilities

• Not addressed regional tensions:
  • In Ladakh, the tensions are already visible between the Buddhist-majority Leh and the Shia-majority Kargil districts.
  • While Leh is in support of re-organization, a different reality prevails in Kargil. There are significant minorities in both districts

• Threat to the needs of local population:
  • Removal of current practice of allowing only current State subjects to buy land or get local jobs, may threatened the needs of local people
  • Many have argued for the adoption of domicile rights as prevalent in States such as Himachal Pradesh
  • People of Jammu and Leh have also demanded a check on outsiders acquiring lands and jobs in the new Union Territory.

CONCLUSION:

• The Centre must now work more on perception management through soft measures instead of adopting a hard-line approach.
• The Union government must also sharply focus on the government schemes aimed at individuals, such as scholarships or houses, in the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, in an effort to push its development narrative in the region.
• It would be even better if the government can announce the time period for the restoration of Jammu & Kashmir’s status back to that of a state. Such a step would bring about confidence and trust among the people of Kashmir as well as the international community.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. “The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, far from being a panacea to the long-standing political issues, has created a new set of internal and external problems” Comment.