By: Ibni Maqbool
Srinagar: The Jammu & Kashmir Government has extended the deadline for freezing boundaries of administrative units up to June 30, 2022.
The Planning Development & Monitoring Department has issued a notification to freeze boundaries of revenue villages, tehsils, districts, municipalities/ towns and other administrative units in Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory from June 30, 2022.
“In exercise of powers conferred by clause (IV) of rule 8 of The Census Rules, 1990 and in suppression of earlier notification issued in this behalf, the Government hereby freezes the boundaries of districts/tehsils, municipalities, towns, revenue villages and other administrative units in the whole Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir w.e.f. 30th of June 2022 till completion of census exercise,” reads the notification, a copy of which is in possession of The Precious Kashmir.
The notification was issued by secretary, PD&MD, on March 28 after the Government of India allowed States/UTs to extend deadline for freezing boundaries of administrative units. The Centre did it after states/UTs wrote to it that they were not able to create new administrative units.
The deadline for freezing boundaries of these units has been extended multiple times due to postponement of census exercise.
The Census 2021 was postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first phase – which involves house listing was to be conducted from April 01 to September 30, 2020, while the second phase, known as population enumeration, was to be carried out from February 2021.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Parliament that the census 2021 and related field activities have been postponed until further orders due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.
It also revealed that the upcoming census will be digital for the first time and people will have the option of self-enumeration.
