Central laws, schemes may need amendment to be applied to J&K

Days after the Centre moved the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act and virtually revoked Article 370, it is looking at the numerous central laws that may still need an amendment to be fully applicable to J&K.

All ministries have been asked to draw up a list of all the central government legislation and schemes that may have a hurdle in being implemented in J&K due to provisos saying they would apply everywhere in India “except in the state of Jammu & Kashmir”, people familiar with the development told ET.

The government has also begun taking steps towards bringing in a range of special measures for Jammu & Kashmir, which has been under heavy restrictions since August 5.


At a meeting held in New Delhi on Tuesday, secretaries to several key Union ministries were asked to send in concrete proposals for J&K, which is being turned into a Union Territory, by August 31, the sources said.

The Centre is examining whether several central legislations may have to be amended separately to remove the exception made for J&K or can the same be done for all laws under a single umbrella legislation.

Whether the applicability of central laws to the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh will have to be specifically mentioned in certain laws is also being examined, the sources said.

There are indications that the government aims to settle this legislative question and the transition from state to UT status in the next session of Parliament itself, if so required.

The Fifth Schedule of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, lists a total of 106 central laws that will be applicable to the union territories of J&K and Ladakh. As many as 153 laws of the state of J&K were also repealed alongside.

The J&K Reorganisation Act comes into effect from October 31.

At Tuesday’s meeting of officials chaired by home secretary Ajay Bhalla in New Delhi, various ministries are learnt to have proposed a range of confidence-building measures for the bifurcated state. Some ministries have also got moving.

Tourism minister Prahlad Patel is set to tour the state to bring in a tourism plan by November, while rural development ministry is looking to mobilise self-help groups to target over 4.5 lakh women in J&K to help them find employment opportunities. Also, plans are afoot to increase scholarships and educational access to students of the state.