By Naveen Sharma Edited by: Rahul Sharma Updated: Tue, 16 Dec 2025 11:43 (IST) There is still confusion over the tenure of District Development Councils (DDC) in Jammu and Kashmir. An answer in this regard is awaited from the Law Department. DDC members…read more The formal notification for the establishment of District Development Councils was issued on 25 February 2021. State Bureau, Jammu. There is confusion in the state government over the tenure of district development boards in Jammu and Kashmir. This is indicated by a letter written by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Affairs to the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Remove Advertisement Read Only News The Panchayat Raj Department in its letter asked when the five-year tenure of the District Development Boards formed in the state started and when it will end. Related sources said that based on the response of the Law Department, the state government may take a decision to dissolve the District Development Boards. There are 14-member District Development Boards in 20 districts. All 20 districts in Jammu and Kashmir have 14-member District Development Boards. For the first time in Jammu and Kashmir, elections for District Development Councils were held in November-December 2020 and the elected representatives took oath on 20 December 2026, while the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj issued the formal notification for the establishment of District Development Councils on 25 February 2021. elections of Panchayats and Block Development Boards in the state have been pending since January 2024. These elections have been continuously postponed due to the pending process of revision of electoral rolls and delimitation of Other Backward Classes and Panchayat circles, apart from the then security scenario in the state. Apart from this, the appointment of the State Election Commissioner is also pending and this appointment is expected to be done by next month. A letter is written for clarification and opinion. He said that the state government wants elections for Panchayats and Block Development Boards as well as District Development Boards to be held simultaneously for the restoration of the three-tier Panchayat Raj system in the state. But the department wants clarity on the situation regarding the tenure of DDC, therefore a letter has been written to the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for clarification and opinion. He said that according to the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act of 1989, the tenure of Panchayats starts from the date of their establishment, while nothing like this has been made clear to the District Development Board. Therefore, the Legal Department was asked whether the term of office of the District Development Council will end on 27 December this year or on 24 February 2026.