A fourth DDC in J&K set to bring no-trust vote against chairperson

The 20 DDCs — 10 each in Kashmir and Jammu — were set up as a third tier of governance in J&K with its maiden election held in 2020. In the absence of an elected Assembly, the 14-member councils in each of the 20 districts serve as planning and monitoring bodies for developmental works across J&K. However, since they were set up early last year, the new system has been beset with problems, with members raising concerns of bureaucratic apathy, insufficient remuneration and restricted mobility.

Shopian DDC member Raja Waheed of the PDP told The Indian Express, “The chairperson has not called a single meeting ever since the introductory meeting of the council was held in March last year.”

According to The Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, which governs the creation and conduct of the DDCs, “the Chairperson shall convene at least four meetings of the District Development Council in a financial year, one in each quarter, which shall be called the ordinary or general meeting.”

Another member of the Shopian council, Aijaz Ahmad Mir of the PDP, said members have been “working entirely on their own and there is no attention to the council on part of the chairperson. Only around 15 per cent of the council’s funds have been utilised in almost 10 months since the plans were approved.”

Speaking to The Indian Express, Shopian DDC chairperson Bilquis Jan said meetings could not be held “given the heavy snowfall” in Kashmir. A meeting was called for January 7 this year to set up a sub-committee for the DDC but was cancelled on the grounds that not all members were present in the district.

The 14-member Shopian council has four members from the PDP, three from the NC, three Independents, two from Apni Party and two from the Congress.

“We are considering moving a no-confidence motion. However, seeing that there has been no movement on these proposals in other councils, we are evaluating our options,” said Waheed.

The councils of Budgam, Ganderbal and Srinagar had earlier passed no-confidence motions against their DDCs on different grounds, however, the motions remain unaddressed since the councils have not met since then. The Srinagar council is chaired by Apni Party’s Malik Aftab, while Ganderbal is chaired by the National Conference’s (NC) Nuzhat Ishfaq and Budgam by Independent member Nazir Ahmad Khan.

The Budgam DDC was the first to move a no-confidence motion against its chairperson Nazir Ahmad Khan.

In July last year, a resolution to this effect was signed by 10 members of the council who alleged that the chairperson “had failed to deliver any kind of developmental goals on the ground”. Members had also accused him of being “selected and not elected” since he is an Independent and the council has a majority of members from parties of the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) that contested the elections together.

Then in October last year, 10 out of 14 members of the Ganderbal council moved a vote of no-confidence against both chairperson Nuzhat Ishfaq of the NC and vice-chairperson Bilal Ahmad of the PDP, citing “their inability to discharge their duties/responsibilities” and a “neglect of their duties”. They also stated in their letter that the behaviour of the chairperson and vice-chairperson towards other members of the council was “untoward”.

But in this case, too, the motion has not been taken up since the DDC has not met since then.

According to the Act, the chairperson or vice chairperson “shall be deemed to have vacated his office” if a no-confidence resolution is passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the directly elected members of the council “at a meeting specifically convened for the purpose in the prescribed manner”. The grounds for such removal include gross misconduct, neglect of duty and failure to attend “three consecutive meetings of the District Development Council”, among other reasons.

In response to queries from The Indian Express, the office of the Ganderbal Deputy Commissioner Krittika Jyotsana said, “The relevant documents pertaining to the no-confidence motion were sent to the government. However, there has been no response from higher authorities so far.”

Abdul Ahad Dar, member of the Budgam council, said that with the chairperson and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as the authorities for convening a meeting, “it is convenient for them not to call a meeting at all”.

The Additional District Development Commissioner or the ADC of the district, an administrative official, functions as the CEO of the DDC.

Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Aijaz said, “There is no clarity in the rules on who can admit and approve such a proposal. We have written to the administrative department seeking clarity on this matter.”

Budgam Deputy Commissioner Shabaz Mirza could not be reached for comment.

With no meeting yet to take up the no-confidence motions, the three DDCs, including Srinagar, remain in limbo.

Chairman of the Srinagar council, Malik Aftab of the J&K Apni Party, had earlier told The Indian Express that the council “struggled to find the right space to convene” and given that the majority of the COVID cases in Kashmir were in Srinagar, “it was difficult to call a meeting to discuss the no-confidence issues within the councils.”