Wajahat Shabir
SRINAGAR:The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly is set for a politically charged sitting on Monday, with the row over Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s statehood resolution likely to remain at the centre of proceedings even as the House takes up a packed legislative agenda, including the Jammu and Kashmir Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026 and more than 30 private members’ bills.
The sitting comes after Friday’s uproar over the statehood resolution moved by Omar Abdullah, which called upon the Government of India for the immediate restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. BJP legislators protested against the resolution, particularly its reference to earlier Assembly resolutions on greater autonomy and special status, resulting in disruption of proceedings.
The resolution is expected to come under discussion again on Monday, setting the stage for another politically sensitive sitting.
Abdullah has maintained that the House is being asked to vote specifically on restoration of statehood and not on Article 370, special status or greater autonomy. He has said the earlier resolutions passed by the Assembly in 2000 and 2024 already form part of the House record and that the present resolution seeks to unite the Assembly around the demand for restoration of statehood.
The BJP, however, has objected to the reference to the earlier resolutions and accused the National Conference-led government of attempting to revive the autonomy issue. BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma has alleged that the government is seeking to revisit an earlier political and constitutional arrangement, while the BJP has maintained that statehood will be restored at an appropriate time.
The Congress, which is an ally of the National Conference, has backed the demand for restoration of statehood. People’s Conference president Sajad Lone has also supported the demand, describing statehood as a right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Against this political backdrop, Omar Abdullah, in his capacity as Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, is scheduled to introduce the Jammu and Kashmir Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, listed as L.A. Bill No. 11 of 2026. The Bill was published in an Extraordinary issue of the Official Gazette on September 24 ahead of its introduction in the House.
The proposed legislation seeks to replace the existing permission-based regulatory approach with a rule-based framework aimed at facilitating business and investment, reducing compliance burdens, generating employment and promoting long-term economic growth.
One of its significant provisions is deemed approval, under which applications would be treated as approved if authorities fail to take a decision within prescribed timelines, subject to the conditions specified in the legislation.
The Bill also proposes asingle-window clearance mechanism and institutional arrangements for processing and monitoring investment proposals. District Empowered Committees headed by Deputy Commissioners are proposed for investment facilitation, while an Ease of Doing Business Council, headed by the Chief Minister, and an Executive Committee headed by the Chief Secretary are envisaged for implementation and coordination.
The legislation lays emphasis on proportionality, transparency, risk-based regulation and time-bound decision-making. It also proposes a three-year moratorium on routine inspections and coercive measures relating to approvals, subject to specified exceptions, including serious complaints.
The Assembly’s Monday agenda also contains a broad slate of private members’ legislation covering employment, education, welfare, healthcare, regulation and local development.
Among the proposed Bills are measures seeking prohibition of online gaming and fantasy leagues, prevention and rehabilitation of substance abuse, a one-time waiver of outstanding electricity dues for specified economically vulnerable consumers, and recognition of a Right to Shelter for eligible landless households.
Other proposals seek reservation of district-cadre government posts for local residents, time-bound engagement of healthcare workers in remote and difficult areas, establishment or upgradation of university campuses in Bhaderwah, Banihal and Bani, and amendments to the Jammu and Kashmir National Law University Act.
he agenda also includes proposed legislation on rehabilitation of natural-calamity victims, regulation of transfers of government employees, amendments to the Reservation Act and the Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act, and regularisation of long-term daily-rated and contractual workers.
Bills concerning a statutory employment guarantee for educated youth, entrepreneurship and skill development, women’s and adolescent girls’ health, food safety, tobacco products, digital news publishers and social-media news channels are also listed.
ther proposals seek creation of a Gurez Development Authority, greater local participation in minor-mineral mining, amendments to the Water Resources Act and stronger mechanisms for compensation following natural disasters.
Two previously introduced private members’ Bills are also scheduled for consideration and passing. One, moved byTanvir Sadiq, seeks restoration of the Jammu and Kashmir Land Grants Act, 1960, and the rules framed under it to their original form prior to the 2022 rules. The other, moved by
Sajad Shaheen, seeks establishment of a university campus at Banihal.
The House is also expected to take up constituency-level issues listed in the day’s business, including the delay in construction of the Jawdara-Barni Road in Gure, drinking-water shortages in Kishtwar town and Tunder area of Dachan, and damage caused by the September 11-12 hailstorm in Gulmarg constituency.
The hailstorm-related agenda covers damage to apple orchards, paddy, maize and other standing crops in several villages, including Haibilgam, Devbugh, Hardubani, Katibugh, Nangerpora, Kreshama, Yaal, Bewah, Mangalore, Mughama and Rawanpora.
Members are also scheduled to raise the alleged rejection of Scheduled Tribe certificates for eligible Pahari applicants in Uri constituency and the outbreak ofLumpy Skin Disease among cattle in Samba’s Ramgarh constituency, with demands for vaccination, veterinary teams, medicines and compensation for affected dairy farmers.
The Assembly is scheduled to meet at 10 am on September 28.
Para submits amendment to statehood resolution
Srinagar: PDP MLA Waheed Para has submitted an amendment to the statehood resolution moved by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, seeking reinstatement of special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and Article 35A of the Constitution.
According to the amendment, Para has sought to add “restoring Article 370 and Article 35A in their original form” to the resolution that was tabled by Abdullah on Friday.
The MLA from Pulwama has submitted the amendment to the secretariat of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
BJP MLAs on Friday created a ruckus soon after the chief minister brought the resolution in the assembly for immediate restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir.
“In addition to the resolutions passed by this House on 26 June 2000 and 6 November 2024, the House calls upon the Government of India for the immediate and urgent restoration of full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir and resolves that this resolution be forwarded to the Government of India,” Abdullah’s resolution read.
The NC-led government headed by Farooq Abdullah had passed a resolution on June 26, 2000 for restoration of greater autonomy as existed before August 9, 1953.
On November 6, 2024, the House passed a resolution seeking the restoration of special status.
The BJP has sought dismissal of the Omar Abdullah government, alleging that its recent moves are aimed at reviving an earlier political arrangement and challenging the constitutional framework.
BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma accused the NC-Congress government in the Union Territory of attempting to overrun its constitutional domain by moving a resolution in the Assembly that, he claimed, sought to revive issues related to autonomy and the pre-1953 constitutional arrangement.
