The Jammu and Kashmir Government has appointed Justice (Retd.) Janak Raj Kotwal, a former judge of J&K High Court, as head of a panel for Reservation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).

 
Akashvani’s Correspondent reports that the Government appointed Justice Janak Raj Kotwal as head of Jammu & Kashmir local bodies dedicated Backward Classes Commission. Raj Kumar Baghat (retired IAS officer) and Professor (Dr) Mohinder Singh Bhadwal (former dean of SKUAST Jammu) have been appointed as members of the commission. The Commission will submit its recommendations regarding proportional reservation for backward classes, Local Body-wise (Urban & Rural) in accordance with the amendments made last year to facilitate reservation for OBCs in Local Bodies.

 
The administrative council headed by LG Manoj Sinha had last month cleared the proposal for constituting the panel. In 2023, the Parliament made amendments in J&K’s reservation law to rechristen “Weak and Under-privileged Classes (Social Castes)” as “Other Backward Classes”. Later, in February this year, the Parliament amended the J&K’s municipal and Panchayat laws to facilitate reservation of OBCs in local bodies of the Union Territory.