With the Delimitation Commission yet to publish maps of the proposed new constituencies for the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, a look at the Census 2011 administrative boundaries along with the draft list of tehsils in some seats points to islands, where a part of the constituency is completely cut off from the rest and surrounded by another constituency.
The Delimitation Commission, chaired by retired Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and including Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and the State Election Commissioner as ex-officio members, was likely to publish its draft for public comments soon, according to sources.
Political leaders participating in the delimitation process as well as independent observers have raised fears of “islands” being formed. Chattar Singh, a former vice-president of the Delhi Congress, who has been engaged with delimitation issues for years, used the administrative atlas for J&K and the draft proposals to find that many such islands were being proposed.
