By Tehelka Bureau
The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly passed six government Bills and witnessed the withdrawal of two others during its seven-sitting autumn session, which concluded on Wednesday after around 25 hours of proceedings.
The two withdrawn Bills sought amendments to the J&K Ministers’ and Ministers of State Salaries Act, 1956, and the Salaries and Allowances of Members of the J&K State Legislature Act, 1960.
The Bills were withdrawn after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah decided against pushing them through without unanimous support in the House.
The session also saw limited disposal of listed questions. Of the 328 starred questions listed for discussion, only 31 were taken up, generating 57 supplementary questions.
Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather said the Assembly had received 646 questions, including 328 starred and 318 unstarred. Of these, 625 were listed, while 20 were disallowed and one was withdrawn.
The six Bills passed by the House included the J&K Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026, J&K State Laws (Decriminalisation of Offences) Bill, 2026, J&K Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2026, J&K Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and J&K State Legislature Members’ Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2026. The House also passed legislation seeking to amend or repeal certain enactments to decriminalise and rationalise offences.
Moving the Ease of Doing Business Bill, Omar said the legislation was aimed at reducing excessive regulation and bureaucratic delays and creating a more conducive environment for investment.
He said the government needed to build greater trust among investors and facilitate private investment rather than directly running commercial enterprises.
On the proposed decriminalisation of offences, the Chief Minister said the legislation was focused on minor and outdated offences and was intended to reduce the burden on courts.
The Municipal (Amendment) Bill sought to address ambiguities in the existing law, including provisions related to the minimum strength of municipal bodies and the authority responsible for delimitation of municipal wards.
During the session, the Assembly received 79 Calling Attention Notices, of which 56 were admitted and 23 disallowed. Thirty were listed for discussion.
The House also received 23 government Bills, while 49 private members’ Bills from previous pending business remained before it.
As many as 70 private members’ resolutions were received, of which 63 were admitted and seven disallowed. Seven resolutions were balloted and listed, but only one was taken up and adopted.
The Assembly also discussed the House Committee report on Jal Jeevan and the prevailing situation and its consequences amid an acute shortage and unavailability of essential financial material.
