Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Sept 30: All J&K Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) has reiterated its demand for complete empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the Union Territory of J&K by implementing 73rd Amendment of Indian Constitution in toto.
During visits to Reasi and Udhampur districts, AJKPC president, Anil Sharma hailed the initiative of Back to Village (B2V) programmes and said it was the yearning of Panchayat members in J&K to have complete empowerment of PRIs through 73rd Amendment of Indian Constitution in letter and spirit.
“Various line departments of the government were asked to consult the elected members of PRIs while implementing the welfare schemes. It is unfortunate that these departments are not adhering to the government guidelines. All such issues can be addressed suitably if the PRIs are fully empowered,” Sharma said while addressing gatherings of PRI members.
The AJKPC leader also demanded financial empowerment of Panchayats in J&K.
“The PRIs have not been able to bring a desired change on ground in rural areas due to non-availability of financial resources,” he said demanding creation of Panchayat Development Fund (PDF) on the pattern of MLAs’ Constituency Development Fund to improve the living standards of the people at Panchayat level.
He said that government should fix a minimum of Rs 25 lakh per Panchayat as PDF which would help the elected Panchayat members to bring a positive change on ground.
The AJKPC leader also demanded immediate enhancement of monthly honorarium of Sarpanches and Panches from Rs 3,000 and Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively and that of BDC chairpersons to Rs 25,000 per month.
Those who attended the meetings were BDC chairpersons, Pawan Sharma, Parveena, Dina Nath, AJKPC district president Reasi, Raj Kumar, Kewal Singh, Vaneet Kumar, Ravi Kumar, AJKPC district president Udhampur, Sansar Singh Jamwal and Sarpanches Pritpal Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Sudesh Kumar, Hans Raj Thakur and Nirmal Kumar.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
