District Development Council

District Development Council (abbreviated as DDC), is a form of elected local government of the Jammu and Kashmir union territory. It is facilitated by the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989 and created under Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Rule, 1996 of the constitution of India. It is primarily aimed at electing the members from the rural and urban areas for the District Planning Committee and the council itself with fourteen members from each district for speedy development and economic uplift.[1]

Each council is headed by an additional district development commissioner (Additional D. C.) as an chief executive officer and the chairperson of the council representing the district. It works at district-level for the term of five years until new DDC elections are announced or held. It also replaced District Planning and Development Boards (DDB), which was implemented in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1954 to perform its functions such as formulation of periodic and annual plans for the development of a district.[1]

Background

It was first introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 16 October 2020, fourteen months after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked by the parliament of India on 5 August 2019, leading the government of India to limit the powers of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and to run the union territory under the union government's rule under a lieutenant governor.[2]

DDC supervises, implement, sponsor and prepare for five main fields such as welfare, health, education, finance, public works and development intended to ensure the community development of a representing district.

2020 DDC elections

The first DDC elections in the history of Jammu and Kashmir were held from 28 November 2020 in eight phases across the two-hundred and eighty DDC constituencies. People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) won 110 seats while BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 75 seats.[3] But later on 19th January, the JKPC left the PAGD, which brought down the PAGD's seat tally from 110 to 102, as JKPC had won 8 seats.[4]

2020 Jammu & Kashmir DDC Election Detailed Results
Alliance Party Seats +/- %
PAGD
JKNC 67 67
JKPDP 27 27
CPI(M) 5 5
JKPM 3 3
JKANC 0
None BJP 75 75
Independents 50 50
INC 26 26
JKAP 12 12
JKPC 8 8
JKPDF(S) 2 2
JKNPP 2 2
BSP 1 1
Total 278/280 280 51.76%

Some of the opposition's leaders of Jammu and Kashmir were arrested under detention laws prior to the elections.[5]

The counting of votes in two DDC constituencies has been kept in abeyance as two of the candidates in them are reportedly from Azad Kashmir.[6]

Composition

DDC works jointly with District Planning Committee (DPC) and Block Development Council from each district. A council consists of fourteen members elected from the countryside and also from the built-up areas where needed or approved by the Election Commission of India. Its chairperson and vice-chairperson are selected by its members; however all the elected members, including chairperson and vice-chairperson are literally headed by a government revenue officer such as additional district development commissioner.[7]

Since it works jointly with the other committees or councils, a jurisdiction's DDC consists of a member of parliament, member of state legislator, chairperson of town hall or municipal committee, and the president of a municipal corporation.[7]

Functions
  • To formulate, prepare, approve a plan or capital expenditure for respective districts
  • To organize general meetings after every three months designed to suggest a new plan or to process pending plans
  • To supervise the activities of gram panchayats, Block Development Council and panchayat samiti in its own jurisdiction at district-level
  • To utilize the development aid or government funds for the development of an entire district
  • To implement the schemes sponsored by the government of India
  • To receive the district development plans compiled and formulated by the Block Development Council and submit it to the District Planning Committee "for adherence to the government guidelines, norms and rules"[7]

References
  1. "What are District Development Councils (DDCs)? – Civilsdaily". www.civilsdaily.com.
  2. Rashid, Hakeem Irfan. "ET in the classroom: All about J&K's District Development Council polls" – via The Economic Times.
  3. "DDC elections results | J&K DDC poll result: PAGD wins 110 seats, BJP 75; counting deferred in 2 seats as candidates belong to PoK". Times Now News. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  4. "Sajad Lone's People's Conference exits Farooq Abdullah-led Gupkar alliance". frontline.thehindu.com. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  5. Fareed, Rifat. "Key Kashmir political leaders arrested by India since August 5". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  6. "counting deferred in 2 seats as candidates belong to PoK". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  7. "District Development Councils (DDC): Why parties think this new layer of governance will kill politics in J&K". 20 October 2020.

Further reading
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