WAJAHAT SHABIR
Jammu: The autumn session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is set to begin on Monday with the House scheduled to take up a report on alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) and introduce a Bill seeking amendments to the J&K Cooperative Societies Act.
The 10-day session, scheduled from September 21 to 30, is expected to see the Opposition raise issues relating to employment, outsourcing, governance, reservation, regularisation of workers, power tariffs and implementation of election promises, while the government is likely to face questions on its record over the past two years.
According to the provisional List of Business for the opening day, proceedings will begin with obituary references by Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to former ministers Dr Sheikh Mustafa Kamal, Dharam Paul and Ghulam Hassan Khan.
This will be followed by Question Hour and the announcement of the Panel of Chairmen before the House takes up the report of the House Committee constituted to examine alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Hasnain Masoodi, chairman of the House Committee, is scheduled to lay the report on the Table of the House.
The House will thereafter take up for introduction the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2026, moved by Cooperatives Minister Javid Ahmad Dar.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Societies Act, 1989, and repeal the Jammu and Kashmir Self-Reliant Cooperative Act, 1999. It also proposes transitional arrangements for self-reliant cooperatives under the 1989 Act.
The opening day business comes amid a sizeable volume of legislative material submitted for the session. Around 650 questions have been received by the Assembly Secretariat, besides 16-17 Private Member Bills and nearly 50 Private Member Resolutions. Seven resolutions have been selected for consideration after scrutiny and balloting.
The private members’ resolutions scheduled for September 25 cover a range of issues, including employment generation, regularisation of workers, allotment of land to homeless families, restoration of water resources, rural planning, parking infrastructure and road connectivity.
Among them, BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi has sought a comprehensive and time-bound master plan for parking facilities in Jammu East, particularly in congested markets, commercial areas, major junctions and residential localities.
BJP MLA Pawan Kumar Gupta has proposed a uniform policy for regularisation of Daily Rated, Casual, NYC, Mid-Day Meal and similarly placed workers in government departments and agencies.
NC MLA Mir Saifullah has sought a comprehensive employment and livelihood policy with measurable annual targets for job creation and accelerated recruitment against vacant posts.
Congress MLA Irfan Hafiz Lone has proposed allotment of five marlas of land to homeless families from available State land and formulation of a policy for the purpose.
Another NC MLA, Qaysar Jamshaid Lone, has sought expediting construction of the Lolab-Bandipora tunnel and road, while Congress MLA Nizam-Ud-Din Bhat has proposed declaring 2027-28 as the year for retrieval of water resources, including restoration of traditional water channels, kuls, water bodies and wetlands.
NC MLA Salman Sagar has proposed de-notification of the Phaak area and Rural Block Harwan from the Srinagar Master Plan, while advocating regulation of the predominantly rural areas under Panchayati Raj and rural development laws.
The session is also expected to witness sharp exchanges between the treasury and Opposition benches.
The BJP has indicated that its legislators will question the government over its performance, including alleged corruption, outsourcing of government jobs, delays in panchayat and urban local body elections, electricity tariff hikes and implementation of electoral promises. The PDP has identified unemployment, outsourcing, reservation policy and regularisation of daily wagers among its key concerns.
The ruling National Conference held its legislature party meeting in Srinagar on Sunday ahead of the session, while the Congress also met separately to discuss the legislative agenda. The alliance parties have maintained that their legislators will raise public concerns in the House.
The provisional calendar provides for government business on September 22, Private Member Bills on September 24, Private Member Resolutions on September 25, another day for Private Member Bills on September 28, followed by government business on September 29 and 30.
The session will also see wider use of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA), as the Assembly moves towards paperless processing of legislative business, including Bills, questions, replies, assurances, notices and other documents. The Assembly’s official NeVA portal lists the autumn session as the sixth session of the J&K Legislative Assembly and confirms its September 21-30 schedule.
BJP, Congress push for longer session
Jammu: The Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have come together on one issue ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly’s autumn session—both want the House to sit for longer, arguing that the provisional schedule of seven sittings is insufficient to take up the concerns of the people.
The sixth session of the Assembly is scheduled to begin on Monday, but the demand for an extension has emerged as a key issue ahead of the proceedings, with both the Opposition BJP and ruling alliance partner Congress seeking additional working days.
The Congress raised the issue during a meeting of its six legislators at the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee office in Srinagar on Sunday. JKPCC president and MLA Tariq Hameed Karra said the session was too brief and that legislators needed more time to raise issues concerning their constituencies and seek their redressal.
Karra said the matter had also been raised before the Speaker, with Congress seeking an extension of the session.
The demand was echoed by the BJP, with Leader of Opposition Sunil Sharma calling for a substantially longer sitting schedule. Sharma said the Speaker should have convened a month-long session to enable legislators to properly raise issues from their constituencies.
The BJP Legislature Party meeting was held on Sunday after the meeting of the National Conference Legislature Party.
Sharma said the BJP would use even the limited session to question the government over its performance during the past two years and seek a report card on its functioning.
The BJP has indicated that its legislators will raise issues concerning governance and public grievances and press the government for answers.
The Congress demand assumes significance as the party is part of the ruling alliance with the National Conference. The two parties have maintained that their alliance does not prevent Congress legislators from raising issues concerning the public and their respective constituencies.
