Government of Jammu and Kashmir

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Government of Jammu and Kashmir
Emblem of Jammu and Kashmir.png
Seat of Government Srinagar, Jammu
Legislative branch
Assembly
Speaker Vacant
Members in Assembly 114 seats (90 seats + 24 seats reserved for Pakistan-administered Kashmir) [1]
Executive branch
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha
Chief Minister Vacant
Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, IAS
Judiciary
High Court J&KHC
Chief Justice N. Kotiswar Singh

The Government of Jammu and Kashmir is the governing authority of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and its two divisions and 20 districts.

Contents

Jammu and Kashmir is a union territory in India under the terms of Article 239A (which was initially applied to Puducherry and is now also applicable to the union territory as per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019) of the Constitution of India. Jammu and Kashmir has executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Srinagar and Jammu are the summer and winter capitals of Jammu and Kashmir respectively.

Executive

The head of state of Jammu and Kashmir is a Lieutenant Governor, appointed by the President of India on the advice of the central government. His or her post is largely ceremonial. The Chief Minister, [2] is the head of government and chairs a council of ministers.

Council of Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir

A Council of Ministers led by a Chief Minister is appointed by the Lieutenant Governor from the membership of the legislative assembly. Their role is to advise the Lieutenant Governor in the exercise of functions in matters under the jurisdiction of the legislative assembly. In other matters, the Lieutenant Governor is empowered to act in his own capacity. [3]

The council of ministers will be formed following the Next Legislative Assembly election. Until then, executive power is vested in the lieutenant governor. The central Government of India can appoint advisers to the council to assist the lieutenant governor with his duties. Since the formation of the union territory in October 2019, the advisors to the lieutenant governor have been acting as "ministers" and are authorised with the same power as ministers. [4]

Advisers to the lieutenant governor: [5] [6]

In 2018, Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (JKIDFC) was set-up to speed up languishing infrastructure development in the union territory. [8] [9]

Legislative

The legislative branch is of government is a unicameral legislative assembly, whose tenure is five years. [10] The legislative assembly may make laws for any of the matters in the State List of the Constitution of India except "public order" and "police", which will remain the preserve of the central Government of India. The Lieutenant Governor also has the power to promulgate ordinances which have the same force as the acts of the legislative assembly. [3]

Elections for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to be in before September 2024. [11]

Judicial

The union territory is under the jurisdiction of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which also serves as high court for neighbouring Ladakh. [12] Police services are provided by the Jammu and Kashmir Police. [13]

Local self government

Panchayati Raj in the union territory allows for the creation of District Development Councils. [14]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Article 370 of the Constitution of India</span> Law granting Jammu and Kashmir special status

Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir, a region located in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and part of the larger region of Kashmir which has been the subject of a dispute between India, Pakistan and China since 1947. Jammu and Kashmir was administered by India as a state from 17 November 1952 to 31 October 2019, and Article 370 conferred on it the power to have a separate constitution, a state flag, and autonomy of internal administration.

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Jammu and Kashmir is administered by the Republic of India within the framework of a federal parliamentary republic as a union territory, like the union territory of Puducherry, with a multi-party democratic system of governance. Until 2019, it was governed as a state administered by India. Politics in the region reflects the historical tension and dispute that the state has been a part of in the form of the Kashmir conflict. The head of state is the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, currently Manoj Sinha, while the head of government is the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, currently vacant. Legislative power is vested in the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, although this was dissolved by the Governor on 21 November 2018. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

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References

  1. Das, Shaswati (31 October 2019). "Jammu and Kashmir transitions from a state into 2 federal units". Livemint. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. 1 2 "Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: Key takeaways". The Indian Express. The Indian Express. 5 August 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  4. Javaid, Azaan (17 March 2020). "J&K has no chief minister but now has 'four ministers' — for home, power, revenue, Haj". ThePrint. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  5. Appointment of Advisors to assist the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (15.11.2019). Civil Secretariat, Jammu. General Administration Department. Government of Jammu and Kashmir. Accessed on 27 June 2021.
  6. Present Advisors to Lieutenant Governor. General Administration Department. Government Of Jammu & Kashmir. Accessed on 27 June 2021.
  7. "AK Mehta to be new chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  8. "J&K to raise Rs 8,000 cr loans for funding infra projects". Business Standard India. PTI. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  9. "Languishing projects become animated". Daily Excelsior. 13 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  10. Press Trust of India (4 December 2013). "Reduce J-K Assembly term to 5 years: BJP". Business Standard. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
  11. "Jammu and Kashmir assembly election in 2021 after delimitation: EC sources". Zee News. 29 August 2019.
  12. "Jammu & Kashmir High Court". jkhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  13. Ratan, Devesh; Johri, Iti (7 August 2019). "Salient Features Of Jammu & Kashmir Reorganization Bill [Read Bill]". LiveLaw.in: All about law. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  14. "J&K: First-ever District Development Council elections to be held in eight phases from November 28". Scroll.in. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.