Speaker Constitutes Nine Panels of J&K Legislative Assembly Through Political Consensus

Jammu, May 28: In a significant move aimed at streamlining legislative business and reinforcing democratic functioning, Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, formally announced the constitution of nine key panels of the House, including the three vital Financial Committees. The announcement was made following broad consensus among all political parties represented in the Assembly.

Among the nine committees constituted, the three Financial Committees — Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Committee on Estimates, and Committee on Public Undertakings (PUC) — play a critical role in ensuring fiscal accountability, monitoring public expenditure, and evaluating government performance. Speaker Rather informed that although a formal election notification had earlier been issued for the selection of members to these panels in accordance with established regulations, no Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) submitted nomination papers within the designated timeframe.

In light of this development, and following a mutual understanding among all political parties, it was collectively decided to project the names of nominated Members to serve on these panels for the legislative year 2025–2026. This approach was adopted in accordance with the principle of proportional representation, thereby avoiding the need for an electoral contest. The Speaker subsequently issued a notification relaxing the relevant provisions of the electoral regulations to facilitate this consensus-driven arrangement.

The newly constituted Public Accounts Committee (PAC), consisting of 11 members, will be chaired by BJP MLA Sham Lal Sharma. Other members include Mubarik Gul (NC), Tariq Hameed Karra (Congress), Nazir Ahmed Khan Gurezi (NC), Balwant Singh Mankotia (BJP), Qaiser Jamshaid Lone (NC), Altaf Ahmed Wani Kaloo (NC), Javid Hassan Baig (NC), Devinder Kumar Manyal (BJP), Sajad Shaheen (NC), and Muzaffar Iqbal Khan (Independent).

The Committee on Estimates, also comprising 11 members, will be headed by NC MLA Shamim Firdous. Members include Ghulam Ahmad Mir (Congress), Abdul Majeed Bhat Larmi (NC), Ghulam Mohi-ud-Din Mir (NC), Pawan Kumar Gupta (BJP), Prof Gharu Ram Bhagat (BJP), Aijaz Ahmed Jan (NC), Shafi Ahmad Wani (NC), Chander Prakash Ganga (BJP), Payare Lal Sharma (Independent), and Arjun Singh Raju (NC).

The Public Undertakings Committee will be chaired by NC MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar and will include Saifullah Mir (NC), Ali Mohammad Dar (NC), Baldev Raj Sharma (BJP), Mir Mohammad Fayaz (PDP), Shakti Raj Parihar (BJP), Ranbir Singh Pathania (BJP), Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri (NC), Showkat Hussain Ganie (NC), Saif Ud Din Bhat (NC), and Tanvir Sadiq (NC).

In addition to these financial panels, six other important committees were constituted through separate notifications issued by the Speaker:

1. 1. Committee on Environment: Comprising 11 members and chaired by CPI-M MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, this committee includes Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed (Congress), Rajiv Jasrotia (BJP), Sajjad Shafi (NC), Peerzada Feroze Ahmad (NC), Zafar Ali Khatana (NC), Khurshied Ahmed (AIP), Mushtaq Guroo (NC), Irshad Rasool Kar (NC), Yudhvir Sethi (BJP), and Darshan Kumar (BJP).

   2. Committee on Subordinate Legislation: Consisting of nine members with NC MLA Hasnain Masoodi as chairman. Members are Reyaz Ahmad Khan (NC), Hilal Akbar Lone (NC), Shabir Ahmad Kullay (Independent), Satish Kumar Sharma (BJP), Kuldeep Raj Dubey (BJP), Rajeev Kumar (BJP), Irfan Hafiz Lone (Congress), and Rameshwar Singh (Independent).

   3. Committee on Privileges: Headed by Congress MLA Nizamuddin Bhat, this nine-member panel includes Vikram Randhawa (BJP), Reyaz Ahmad Khan (NC), Salman Sagar (NC), Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed Pardesi (NC), Javaid Riyaz (NC), Javaid Iqbal (NC), Narinder Singh Raina (BJP), and Bharat Bhushan (BJP).

   4. Committee on Petitions: Chaired by NC MLA Pirzada Farooq Ahmed Shah, this seven-member committee also includes Mushtaq Guroo (NC), Salman Sagar (NC), Waheed Ur Rehman Para (PDP), Mian Mehar Ali (NC), Vijay Kumar (BJP), and Thakur Randhir Singh (BJP).

   5. Committee on Government Assurances: Peoples Conference MLA Sajad Gani Lone will head this nine-member committee, joined by Choudhary Mohammed Akram (Independent), Javaid Ahmad Mirchal (NC), Iftikhar Ahmed (Congress), Hilal Akbar Lone (NC), Mian Mehar Ali (NC), Mohan Lal (BJP), Sunil Bhardwaj (BJP), and Shagun Parihar (BJP).

   6. Ethics Committee: Comprising 11 members, this committee is to be led by BJP MLA Surjeet Singh Slathia. Its members include Javaid Iqbal (NC), Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed Pardesi (NC), Zafar Ali Khatana (NC), Rafi Ahmad Naik (PDP), Sajjad Shafi (NC), Arvind Gupta (BJP), Daleep Singh (BJP), Surinder Kumar (BJP), Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh (AIP), and Mehraj Malik (AAP).

Speaker Rather emphasized that these committees are essential for the internal functioning of the House and for upholding legislative scrutiny, transparency, and accountability in governance. He appreciated the spirit of cooperation shown by all political parties in arriving at a consensus without resorting to elections and urged all nominated members to contribute effectively to the business of the House.