Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Dec 20: A one-day conference of All India Panchayat Parishad was organized in Akhnoor today which was organized by Kuldeep Sharma former Sarpanch of Akhnoor Daskal and acting president of All India Panchayat.
Thakur Satpal, National acting president of All India Panchayat Parishad and former Minister of Himachal Pradesh Government was the chief guest in the program, while SS Vijay Mishra, National general secretary Akhil Bharatiya Panchayat Parishad was the guest of honour. Apart from these, Yugal Gupta in-charge Jammu Kashmir, Dr Kuldeep Sharma president Jammu Kashmir, Romesh Chander Sharma general secretary Administration Jammu Kashmir and many Sarpanches, Panches were present.
Chief guest Th Satpal informed that Jammu and Kashmir is the only state/UT in the whole of India where Panchayats have got full rights of 21 departments out of 29 and efforts are also being made to for the remaining eight departments. He said that the foundation of a strong country lies with its strong rural democracy, which has been made possible by Panchayati Raj in India. He said that the bureaucracy in Jammu and Kashmir is trying to weaken the Panchayati Raj as they do not want the Panchayats to be empowered and take decisions for the welfare of the people themselves. He requested the Panchayati representatives to work together for the progress of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kuldeep Sharma told the visiting guests about the difficulties being faced by the representatives of the Panchayats of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that recently the e-tendering started in Panchayats for small scale works has become a problem for the selected representatives as the entire process is not completed in time and most of the money gets lapsed. He said that the government says that crores of rupees have been received by the Governments of Jammu and Kashmir, but here Sarpanchs and Panchs are upset due to non-availability of funds for development.
Dr Kuldeep Sharma said that due to All India Panchayat Parishad, the Panchayats of Jammu and Kashmir have been strengthened and they have been given proper rights. He said that the All India Panchayat Parishad is working to empower the Panchayats and strongly advocated the three-tier system in J&K which was later implemented in J&K. He said that we are working for all sections of the society and we stand with them for the development of the people of rural areas. Vijay Mishra also spoke on the occasion.