SRINAGAR, MAY 28: The Speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly has constituted nine House Committees, including three financial panels, to carry out various legislative functions in accordance with the Assembly’s Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. The move aims to strengthen oversight and ensure smoother legislative operations within the Assembly.
As per the order, members of the ruling National Conference (NC)-led alliance will head six of the nine committees, while the remaining three will be chaired by opposition legislators. The NC has been given charge of four committees, with the Congress and the CPI(M) heading one each. On the opposition side, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been allocated leadership of two panels, while the Peoples Conference (PC) will lead one.
The newly constituted committees include the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Estimates Committee, Public Undertakings Committee, Committee on Environment, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, Committee on Government Assurances, Committee on Privileges, Committee on Petitions, and the Committee on Ethics.
These panels will be chaired by a mix of seasoned legislators and experienced professionals. Notably, Justice (Retd.) Hasnain Masoodi and Peerzada Farooq Ahmad Shah—both first-time legislators—have been appointed as heads of their respective committees, in recognition of their backgrounds in the judiciary and public administration.
Meanwhile, independent MLAs and members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who are all serving their first term in the Assembly, have not been given chairperson roles in any of the committees. The Assembly currently includes six independents and three PDP members.
Leader of the Opposition and senior BJP leader Sunil Sharma is not part of any House Committee. He had earlier recused himself from a committee formed to examine the issue of MLA salaries, which may have influenced his absence from the current panel appointments.