2 private members’ bills rejected, 6 withdrawn
JAMMU, MARCH 30: The ongoing Budget Session of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Monday witnessed significant legislative and financial business, including assent to key Appropriation Bills, tabling of multiple audit reports, and discussion on Private Members’ Bills with varied outcomes.
Secretary, Legislative Assembly, Manoj Kumar Pandit informed the House that the Lieutenant Governor has assented to three Appropriation Bills passed by the Assembly.
He read out that the House is informed that the bills namely Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill 2026 (LA Bill No. 4 of 2026), Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill 2026 (LA Bill No. 5 of 2026) and Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill 2026 (LA Bill No. 6 of 2026), passed by the Legislative Assembly have been assented to by the Lieutenant Governor on March 27, 2026.
Earlier, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, laid on the Table of the House a series of key audit and financial documents.
These included seven reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India covering multiple sectors and audit categories: report on public health infrastructure and management of health services for the period ended March 2022 (Report No. 2 of 2025, Performance Audit–Civil); report on working of University of Jammu for the period ended March 2022 (Report No. 3 of 2025, Performance Audit–Civil); report on conservation and management of lakes in Jammu and Kashmir for the period ended March 2022 (Report No. 4 of 2025, Performance Audit–Civil); report for the period ended March 2022 (Report No. 05 of 2025, Compliance Audit – Revenue and Public Sector Undertakings); report for the period ended March 2022 (Report No. 06 of 2025, Composite Audit Report – Civil); report for the period ended March 2023 (Report No. 7 of 2025, Compliance Audit Report – Civil-1); and report for the period ended March 2023 (Report No. 1 of 2026 – UT Revenue).
In addition, the Chief Minister also laid the Finance Accounts (Volumes I and II) and the Appropriation Accounts for the financial year 2024–25 before the House.
During the day, nine Private Members’ Bills were introduced by legislators. These included a bill by Qaysar Jamshaid Lone to amend the Cooperative Societies Act, 1989 (LA Private Members Bill No. 1 of 2025); a bill by Mir Saifullah to make it obligatory for private educational institutions to provide reservation to children of Below Poverty Line and Antyodaya Anna Yojana families in agriculture colleges, paramedical colleges, law colleges and skill development institutions (LA Private Members Bill No. 6 of 2025); a bill by Nizam-ud-Din Bhat to provide equitable opportunities of employment in civil services in Jammu and Kashmir keeping in view its socio-economic, geographical, ethnic and linguistic concerns (LA Private Members Bill No. 11 of 2025); a bill by Altaf Ahmad Wani to amend the Jammu and Kashmir Preservation of Specified Trees Act, 1969, to allow owners to cut walnut trees on their land while ensuring environmental sustainability (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 13 of 2025); a bill by Mubarik Gul regarding salaries, allowances and other benefits of the Chief Whip of the majority party (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 19 of 2025); and a bill by Dr. Bashir Ahmad Shah Veeri to restore and safeguard River Jhelum through waste management measures and strict penalties for pollution (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 23 of 2025).
After discussion in the House, these six bills were withdrawn by the legislators following assurances from the Government that the existing legal and regulatory framework addresses the concerns raised.
Meanwhile, two bills were pressed for introduction but were rejected through voice voting. These included a bill by Waheed Ur Rehman Para to establish a residential and technical university in the Union Territory using surplus funds of the Kashmir Creative Educational Foundation (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 9 of 2025), and a bill by Balwant Singh Mankotia seeking protection of temples and retrieval of illegally occupied land (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 16 of 2025).
MLA Pawan Kumar Gupta also introduced a bill to provide compassionate appointments to the next of kin of deceased government employees, security personnel and civilians affected by militancy or enemy action (LA Private Members’ Bill No. 27 of 2025).
The day’s proceedings reflected a mix of legislative approvals, financial accountability measures and deliberations on member-driven legislative proposals in the Assembly.
