J&K: A cadre change and why Centre will keep the local police under it

New Delhi, Aug 06: The Centre on Monday made an important announcement, while scrapping Article 370 today. It decided to make Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory with legislature. It has also been decided that Ladakh would be a Union Territory without legislature.

Top Home Ministry sources tell OneIndia that Jammu and Kashmir would follow the Puducherry model, while functioning as a Union Territory. Before this announcement was made, only the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry had a legislature.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Rajya Sabha today that J&K would be a UT with legislature and Ladakh one without. Now that it has been decided that J&K would be run on the Puducherry model, it would be interesting to see how the administration would be run in J&K.

While the police is under the control of the Puducherry government, the norm may be slightly different in J&K. Sources say that considering the security situation in the state, it would be advisable to keep the police under the Centre. This would also ensure that all security forces operating in the Valley are on the same page.

Changes in the IAS and IPS sector would also need to be effected. Owing to this change the J&K cadre for the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service will have to be scrapped. The civil service cadre would be part of the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories (AGUMT) cadre.

In addition to this there would be MPs, MLAs, special representatives, secretaries and also a director general of police like in the case of Puducherry.

However in the case of Puducherry, there is no exclusive High Court. All cases relating to Puducherry are heard by the Madras High Court. There is still no clarity on whether the Jammu and Kashmir High Court will continue to exist. In case, the Puducherry model is implemented in full, then there is a chance that cases relating to J&K could be heard by the Delhi High Court.