{"id":42509,"date":"2025-10-27T06:42:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T01:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=42509"},"modified":"2025-10-30T12:11:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T06:41:01","slug":"what-powers-will-the-new-jammu-and-kashmir-assembly-have","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/what-powers-will-the-new-jammu-and-kashmir-assembly-have\/","title":{"rendered":"What Powers will the new Jammu and Kashmir Assembly have?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Introduction<\/li>\n<li>Constitutional Changes Post-2019<\/li>\n<li>Governance Structure of Jammu and Kashmir<\/li>\n<li>Powers of the Legislative Assembly<\/li>\n<li>Comparison with Delhi&#8217;s Governance Model<\/li>\n<li>Role of the Lieutenant Governor<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The first phase of polling for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is set to commence on from 18th Sep, 2024.<\/li>\n<li>This election is particularly significant as it marks the <strong>first since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019<\/strong>, fundamentally altering the political and constitutional landscape of the region.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>new Assembly will represent a <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/union-territories\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Union Territory (UT)<\/strong><\/a><strong> rather than a state<\/strong>, introducing substantial changes to the governance structure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Constitutional Changes Post-2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>In August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir&#8217;s statehood was revoked, and it was bifurcated into two Union Territories\u2014<strong>Jammu and Kashmir with a legislature<\/strong> and <strong>Ladakh without a legislature<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This restructuring was made possible through the <strong>Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019<\/strong>, which amended the First Schedule of the Constitution to reflect the new status and provided a fresh framework for governance under <strong>Article 239<\/strong>, which governs Union Territories.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Governance Structure of Jammu and Kashmir<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The governance of the new UT of Jammu and Kashmir is unique, akin to the model followed by the Union Territories of <strong>Delhi and Puducherry<\/strong>, but with some distinctions.<\/li>\n<li>Under <strong>Article 239A<\/strong>, the region will have a Legislative Assembly, similar to Puducherry.<\/li>\n<li>However, the powers of this Assembly will differ substantially from the powers held by states.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Powers of the Legislative Assembly<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019<\/strong> outlines the specific powers of the Legislative Assembly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Section 32<\/strong> of the Act states that the Assembly may make laws on matters in the <strong>State List<\/strong>, except for critical areas like public order and police.<\/li>\n<li>Additionally, the Assembly can legislate on subjects in the <strong>Concurrent List<\/strong>, as long as such laws do not conflict with central legislation.<\/li>\n<li>However, <strong>Section 36<\/strong> introduces an important condition for financial legislation.<\/li>\n<li>Any Bill related to financial obligations must be recommended by the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/powers-of-lieutenant-governor-lg-delhi\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Lieutenant Governor (LG)<\/strong><\/a> before being introduced in the Assembly.<\/li>\n<li>This gives the LG substantial control over policies that could impact the region\u2019s finances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Comparison with Delhi&#8217;s Governance Model<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The governance structure of Jammu and Kashmir can be compared to Delhi, another Union Territory with a legislature.<\/li>\n<li>However, Delhi&#8217;s powers are limited, with key areas such as land, public order, and police under the direct control of the <strong>LG<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Disputes between the Delhi government and the LG have often led to legal battles, particularly over control of <strong>services<\/strong> (the bureaucracy).<\/li>\n<li>In Jammu and Kashmir, the LG has similar control over public order, police, and anti-corruption matters.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>2019 Act also allows the LG to exercise discretion on issues outside the purview of the Legislative Assembly<\/strong>, thus giving the LG considerable influence in governance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Role of the Lieutenant Governor<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Lieutenant Governor<\/strong> in Jammu and Kashmir holds significant authority, as defined under <strong>Section 53<\/strong> of the 2019 Act.<\/li>\n<li>The LG can act independently in matters beyond the legislative powers of the Assembly, including the <strong>All India Services<\/strong> and <strong>Anti-Corruption Bureau<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Moreover, the <strong>LG&#8217;s decisions cannot be easily challenged in court<\/strong>, making the office a powerful administrative entity.<\/li>\n<li>In the lead-up to the elections, several administrative changes have further extended the powers of the LG.<\/li>\n<li>These changes include the ability to appoint the <strong>Advocate General<\/strong>, law officers, and participate in decisions related to prosecution and sanctions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections mark a new chapter in the region\u2019s governance, with a drastically altered political and constitutional framework post-2019.<\/li>\n<li>The region now functions as a Union Territory with a limited legislative assembly, much like Delhi and Puducherry, but with additional checks in place through the enhanced powers of the LG.<\/li>\n<li>How these changes will impact governance and the balance of power between the Centre and the region remains to be seen, especially as the region moves towards a new political and administrative reality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1. How many UTs in India have a Legislative Assembly?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Three union territories in India have a legislative assembly: Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2. Who appoints Lieutenant Governor in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In India, according to Article 239 of its Constitution, the Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the President of India. An appointee does not hold office during the pleasure of a fixed tenure and employment works during the pleasure of the President.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/nature-of-jk-assembly-9573231\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">What powers will the new Jammu and Kashmir Assembly have?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Polling for the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is set to commence on from 18th Sep, 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-42509","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}