PDP legislator Parra submits Bill on divisional status for Chenab valley, Pir Panjal valley in J&K

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed ur Rehmaan Parra has moved a Bill in the J&K Assembly to pitch for administrative division status for the Chenab valley and the Pir Panjal valley in the Jammu division.

Submitted as a private member Bill, titled The Jammu and Kashmir Territorial Administrative Reorganisation Bill, 2026, the PDP seeks new administrative divisions, including a Chenab Division with headquarters at Doda and a Pir Panjal Division with headquarters at Rajouri, in addition to the existing Jammu and Kashmir divisions.

The Bill also pressed for new districts in Jammu as well as Kashmir. “The Bill proposes to empower the government to assign new districts to Jammu, Kashmir, Chenab or Pir Panjal divisions taking into account factors such as geographical continuity, administrative convenience, socio-cultural cohesion and balanced regional development,” it reads.

It suggested there were “challenges arising from vast geographical spread, difficult terrain and regional disparities”. The Bill, the PDP said, seeks to “institutionalise a transparent mechanism for the creation of new administrative units to strengthen decentralised governance and improve public service delivery”.

The J&K Assembly, which will meet on March 26 in Jammu, has earmarked March 30 and April 1 for private members’ bills.