Srinagar: Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, Abdul Rahim Rather, on Tuesday admitted a private member’s resolution moved by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Kupwara, Mir Fayaz, seeking a one-time waiver of outstanding electricity dues for consumers.
The resolution, aimed at providing relief to households burdened by escalating power costs and billing disputes, will now proceed to the next stage and undergo the ballot procedure in the upcoming Assembly session.
As per Assembly rules, the resolution will be put to a ballot vote to determine whether it will be included in the Assembly calendar for debate and possible adoption.
Following the 2024 elections, the 90-member J&K Assembly comprises 42 members from the National Conference (NC), 29 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), six from Congress, three from the PDP, one each from CPI(M), Aam Aadmi Party, Peoples Conference, and Awami Ittehad Party, along with six independents.
The Congress has extended outside support to the Omar Abdullah-led NC government without formally joining it.
Currently, two Assembly seats — Nagrota in Jammu division and Budgam in the Kashmir Valley — are vacant.
The Nagrota seat, earlier held by BJP’s Devender Singh Rana, fell vacant following his demise on October 31, 2024. The BJP has nominated Devyani Rana, daughter of the late leader, for the upcoming by-election.
In Budgam, the vacancy arose after Omar Abdullah resigned the seat to retain his Ganderbal constituency, both of which he had won in the 2024 elections. The NC has fielded former minister Aga Syed Mehmood for Budgam and Shamim Begum for Nagrota in the by-polls.
The Election Commission has scheduled polling for both Nagrota and Budgam Assembly seats on November 11.
