Jammu, October 30:  People of India will witness a new chapter in history as the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be divided into two separate Union Territories -Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from Thursday, October 31. On August 9, President Ram Nath Kovind had given his assent to a legislation for the bifurcation of the state. The Modi government had on August 5 abrogated provisions of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

The two Union Territories will come to existence on October 31. IAS officer Girish Chandra Murmu appointed as the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir while  Radha Krishna Mathur has been appointed as its Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.

Murmu currently holds the post of expenditure secretary in the Finance Ministry and is a 1985 batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer. He was the principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. On October 25, the then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik was transferred and appointed as the Governor of Goa. Jammu and Kashmir Administration Explains Benefits of Abrogation of Article 370.

The President had given assent to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. "In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (a) of section 2 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 (34 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 31st day of October, 2019, as the appointed day for the purposes of the said Act," a home ministry notification said. The Act said Jammu and Kashmir UT will have reservation in the assembly seats.

Here's What Will Change From October 31, 2019

From October 31, the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a legislature like Puducherry while Ladakh will be a UT like Chandigarh, without legislature. In both the newly formed Union Territories, key subjects such as law and order will be with the Centre.

Maximum Strength of UT Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will have a Lieutenant Governor and the maximum strength of its assembly will be enhanced to 114 from 107 after a delimitation exercise. Twenty-four seats of the Assembly will continue to remain vacant as they fall under Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

At present, the effective strength of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is 87, including four seats falling in Ladakh region, which will now be a separate UT without a legislature. The UT of Ladakh will have Kargil and Leh districts.  Preparations are underway for the swearing-in of the two newly-appointed Lieutenant Governors in Srinagar and Leh with just one day left in the dissolution of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 30, 2019 04:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).