Three DDC Seats Vacant As Members Elected As Mlas

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Three District Development Council (DDC) seats in Jammu and Kashmir remain vacant after their members were elected as Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

The three DDC members who were elected as MLAs include Waheed Ur Rehman Para, who was elected as the DDC member from Pulwama-I but was not allowed to take oath as a DDC member; Irfan Hafiz Lone, who was elected as the DDC member from Sangrama; and Mehraj Malik, who was elected as the DDC member from Kahara, reported news agency KNO.

Waheed Ur Rehman Para won the assembly elections from Pulwama, Lone won from the Wagoora-Kreeri constituency, and Mehraj Malik won from the Doda assembly segment.

It has been around two months since the assembly election results were announced, but the authorities have yet to declare by-polls for these three seats.

The DDC elections were introduced as part of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, which was amended by the Government of India to establish a three-tier governance system in the Union Territory (UT).

Read Also No Content Available

The first-ever DDC elections in J&K were held in November-December 2020 in eight phases. These elections were historic as they marked the first significant electoral exercise in the UT after the reorganization of J&K into two separate UTs-J&K and Ladakh-in August 2019.

The DDCs replaced the District Development Boards, empowering elected representatives to formulate and execute development plans for their respective districts. The councils consist of 14 members per district, directly elected by the public, and are responsible for overseeing the execution of developmental projects and schemes.

A by-election for two DDC seats was held in 2023 after it was revealed that two previously elected candidates were not Indian citizens. The polls for two District Development Council (DDC) seats were declared“null and void” after it emerged that two women from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), married to locals from the valley, had contested the elections.

The State Election Commission (SEC), in the exercise of the powers conferred under Section 36 of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, had declared the polling for the DDC constituencies of Drugmulla and Hajin (A) as void, cancelling the candidature of Soomia Sadaf and Shazia Aslam.

Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group : Join Now

Be Part of Quality Journalism

Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast.

ACT NOW

MONTHLY	Rs 100

YEARLY	Rs 1000

LIFETIME	Rs 10000

CLICK FOR DETAILS

MENAFN17122024000215011059ID1109000429

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.