Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 19: Former Union Minister and MLA, Prof Chaman Lal Gupta has asked the Government to clarify why it was shirking to face the electorates at grass root level and depriving people of having Local Self Governance to tackle their urban and village sanitation and other such like limited problems.
In a statement, Prof Gupta termed the announcement by the PCC president Prof Safi-ud-Din Soz that the Coordination Committee of the two ruling parties have reached to a decision to hold Civic elections by the end of June this year, as “misleading’’.
He pointed out that in the month of June the Civic elections could not be possible for several reasons especially when the forces would be engaged in making the arrangements for the pilgrimage of Swami Amarnath ji. “Other arrangements for fair elections are also incomplete. There are no sincere efforts to update the electoral rolls while the wards have also not been created as per the Municipal Laws”, he added.
Prof Gupta regretted that the ruling leaders talk about empowerment of the Panchayats and the Local Bodies but in the Assembly they opposed the moves for extension of the 73rd and 74th Amendments.
He also pointed out that reluctance of the State Government in the conduct of the Local Bodies elections was costing dearly to the State exchequer because the Central grants were not being released fully and the State was facing financial loss for not holding the Civic elections.
Prof Gupta also criticized the Government for not making due security arrangements for the elected Panchs and Sarpanchs and launching a drive to eradicate the menace of terror.
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