[4] District Development Councils were first introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 16 October 2020, fourteen months after the special status of Jammu and Kashmir was revoked by the parliament of India on 5 August 2019, leading the government of India to limit the powers of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly and to run the union territory under the union government's rule administered by a lieutenant governor.
In 2020, Government of India decided to hold elections to these councils in order to bring more democracy at the Panchayati raj level and have its members more accountable to the people.
[7] Some of the opposition's leaders of Jammu and Kashmir were arrested under detention laws prior to the elections.
[8] The counting of votes in two DDC constituencies has been kept in abeyance as two of the candidates in them are reportedly from Pakistani administered Kashmir.
On 6 April 2021 Government of Jammu and Kashmir issued fresh warrant of precedence in which DDC Chairpersos were placed as equivalent to Minister of State with in their respective territorial jurisdictions, above Member of parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly (India) and Chief secretary (India) and Vice Chairpersons equivalent to Administrative Secretaries within their respective jurisdictions in Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)[11] Source:[14] DDC Kulgam[15] Source:[16]