36-member J-K legislative council formally abolished

The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday formally abolished the 36-member legislative council (upper house of the legislature) in the wake of Jammu and Kashmir becoming a Union Territory on 31 October.

The formal order of dissolution of the upper house of the legislature has been issued by the General Administration Department (GAD).

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Jammu and Kashmir was among the very few states of the country that had two houses of the legislature.

It has been ordered that the total staff of 116, including an additional secretary and three deputy secretaries, of the legislative council shall report to the GAD by 22 October.

The order said that all vehicles purchased by the legislative council from time to time shall be handed over to the Director of the state motor garages, the building, furniture and electronic gadgets to the Director of Estates and the official record to the department of law and justice.

The Legislative Council, that was established 62 years ago in 1957, was abolished in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 introduced in Rajya Sabha on 5 August 2019 and subsequently passed by both houses of the parliament after the Modi government abrogated the Article 370 providing special status to the state and split the state into two Union Territories.

Demand for the abolition of the legislative council was raised from time to time as it had become a virtual white elephant that was used to rehabilitate favourites of the ruling political parties and their defeated MLAs.