The Evolution And Stagnation Of Local Governance In J&K Through DDCs

Faizan Zahoor Khan

Introduction

In the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir there was a three-tier system of local government provided for by the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act of 1989. The system consisted of three levels: the Halqa Panchayat (HP) at the village level, the Block Development Council (BDC) at the block level, and the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) at the district level.However, for many years the structure remained incomplete since the grassroot level of governance were seldom filled by election. Following the abolition of Article 370 in August 2019, the domain came under considerable national attention ,after prolonged time grassroot level of elections were conducted in such successfull manner. In 2020 the government enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2020, which substituted the DPDB with a new body to be directly elected, the District Development Council (DDC). This finally brought to completion the three-tier system of local government intended by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described it as a major advance, stating that the DDC elections had “written a new chapter” (Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India,26 D8/6/2026ecember 2020). The elections took place in spite of difficulties such as COVID-19, the unresolved question of voting rights for Kashmiri migrants, and the cold winter weather, and yet still achieved a voter turnout of 51%.

Background

The concept of local self-governance existed in Jammu and Kashmir since 1935 when the Dogra government of Maharaja Hari Singh implemented the Village Panchayat Regulation Act. This was one of the first instances of introducing governance at the level of villages in the region. However, the system did not function successfully after the end of the Dogra rule and signing of the Instrument of Accession in 1947 that brought Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union.

In 1958, the previous laws governing panchayati raj in Jammu and Kashmir were repealed based on the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta committee in order to align the earlier system with the other states of the country. However, during the 1970s, the significance of panchayati raj institutions in J&K diminished considerably due to the continuing political unrest in the region.

Then came the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act of 1989 which attempted to revive the system of governance at the grassroots level. The new act aimed to set up a three-tier structure consisting of the Halqa Panchayat (HP) at the village level, the Block Development Council (BDC) at the intermediate level, and the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) at the district level.

In other parts of India, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (in 1992) granted constitutional authority to panchayati raj institutions. In the former State of Jammu & Kashmir, however, these amendments couldn’t be applied because of the special status conferred on J&K according to Article 370.

Even the first panchayat elections held according to the 1989 Act proved to be only an exercise on paper. In fact, the elections were conducted only in a few of the constituencies—in Baramulla for instance, just 208 out of 2348 constituencies, in Kupwara 152 out of 1695, and in Srinagar 53 out of 759 saw actual voting (Chowdhary, 2001). The elections were clearly neither fair nor complete because of the prevailing insurgency in the region and a lack of interest among the political class regarding panchayati raj institutions.

Political instability was continuing in J&K 2021, endowing inactiveness of local governance in J&K. The introduction of the District Development Councils (DDC) in that same year demonstrated an important step taken by the government towards the restoration of grassroots democracy. I believe that “what scoops out election of DDC is its legitimacy, relatively with precedent grassroot level of governance”

Optimal Inception

The District Development Council (DDC) elections, which took place in phases between November 28 and 19 December, 2020, represented a major turning point for grassroots democracy in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Voter turnout registered by DDC elections was high, at 51%, despite the impediments caused by COVID-19 pandemic and the harsh winter conditions prevailing at the time.

The DDC also been gained legitimacy due to the devoid of violence and active participation of people during the elections (i.e., it shows the success of democracy).

With the financial resources being made available directly at the grassroots, funds can be utilized with lesser dependency on the higher administrative authorities concerning the developmental work. The availability of funds was evident from the Centre allocating about Rs. 200 crore to the DDCs in 2020-2021 (Ashiq, 2021) which provides the elected representatives with higher financial autonomy pertaining to local developmental projects than the previous local bodies enjoyed.

STAGNATION

The DDC framework has, despite its promising beginning, manifested concerns related to stagnant development. The elected councils, which served for a five-year term, have not been replaced by new elections after the end of their term on 24 February, 2026, which resulted in a long inactivity among local governmental institutions without a new mandate from citizens at large (Panwar, 2026).

The further concern is structural in nature and linked to the history of DDC creation. Contrary to panchayati raj institutions, DDC in J&K did not come to existence due to constitutional acts since it was founded by means of the executive order (Panwar, 2026).

A controversial issue is representation. It has been noted that the distribution of seats among the districts does not reflect the differences in their population, thus violating the principle of equal representation per person — for example, Srinagar, which has a population of 12 lakhs, and Kishtwar, which has a population of 2.5 lakhs, have the same number of DDC members (Panwar, 2026).

References

Chowdhary, R. (2001). Panchayat elections in Kashmir: A paper exercise. Economic & Political Weekly, 36(20), 1674–1677.

Panwar, T. S. (2026, July 15). How DDCs changed local governance in J&K? The Hindu.

Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India. (2020, December 26). PM’s address at launching of Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir [Video]. YouTube.

Rai, V. (2021, January 8). District Development Councils: A precursor to assembly elections? Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), National University of Singapore. https://www.isas.nus.edu.sg/papers/district-development-councils-a-precursor-to-assembly-elections/

State Election Commission, Jammu and Kashmir. (2020). DDC election compendium (pp. 80–82). https://secjk.nic.in/ResultDDC_ms/DDC_2020_content/DDC_election_compendium_final.pdf

Waza, F. A., & Chathukulam, J. (2024). Jammu and Kashmir on the path of empowering grassroots democracy. Centre for Rural Management (CRM). https://crmindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/waza-chathukulam-2024-jammu-and-kashmir-on-the-path-of-empowering-grassroots-democracy.pdf

About the Contributor:

Writing

Faizan Zahoor Khan is a graduate in Political Science from Abdul Ahad Azad Memorial Degree College, Srinagar. A resident of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, he has applied for an M.A. in Public Administration through IGNOU, with a keen interest in public service, governance, and administration.