Jammu and Kashmir to be made a Union Territory | What does it mean for the state?

Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on August 5 that Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which provides special status to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, has been abolished with the President signing an order which comes into effect "at once".

Shah also proposed that the state be bifurcated into two Union Territories – Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

While Jammu and Kashmir will be a Union Territory (UT) with a legislature of its own, just like the National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry, Ladakh will be a UT without an Assembly.

Read Also | J&K to be Union Territory with Legislature, Ladakh without: Here's the difference

While Shah said the decision was taken based on the assessment of the "prevailing security situation" vis-a-vis cross-border terrorism, former chief ministers of J&K Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah sharply criticised the move.

Making Jammu and Kashmir a Union Territory will put the state directly under the Centre's supervision. Even if the state will have its own Assembly, and hence its own chief minister, the word of the Centre-appointed Lieutenant Governor (LG) will supersede that of the CM.

If not, there will always be conflicting views on policies, stalling decision-making and approaching the courts for the final word, something which has been evident in both Delhi and Puducherry.

Also keeping in mind the examples of Delhi and Puducherry, division of powers in a UT with legislature will be a tedious process. Simply put, what issue comes under whose jurisdiction. For instance, in Delhi, the municipal works do not fall under the state government, but are formed by the Centre. Similarly, there is a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) exclusively for matters pertaining to land.

It has also been reported that incumbent Governor of J&K Satya Pal Malik will be appointed as the LG of the newly-formed Union Territories.

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Article 370 of the Indian Constitution gave Jammu and Kashmir its own constitution and restricted the Centre's powers to deciding matters of defence, communications and external affairs. For any other area, the Centre had to get the state legislature's approval.

Besides, Article 35A of the Indian Constitution gives the state to decide its permanent residents, and bars outsiders from buying property or claiming government jobs and educational scholarships in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the decision on its constitutional validity is still pending in court.