Contractors-officers nexus erode PRIs autonomy
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 15: All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference, (AJKPC), the premier representative body of elected Panchayat members of J&K today said that works up to Rs 3 lakh should be sanctioned by Gram Sabhas.
Addressing a press conference here today, Anil Sharma, president of the AJKPC informed that despite repeated prayers to the Government and assurances by the senior officers even tenders for petty works are being allotted through e-tendering process which is not only undermining the autonomy of the Gram Sabhas but also depriving the local educated youth of employment avenues.
Sharma alleged that he has been apprised by the Panchayat members that the works done by contractors under CAPEX budget in rural areas are of very low quality and there is no accountability of these contractors and they not pay any heed to the requests of the PRI members, neither the officers listen to the prayers of the Panches and Sarpanches in this regard.
The AJKPC president stated that as the Utilization Certificates(UCs) for works done under district budget for CAPEX are being issued by respective district administration therefore, the role of PRI members in checking the quality of works have been curtailed and in fact done away.
He said it is insignificant that from which account the money is being spent for developmental work , the only important thing is it spent out of state exchequer and out of tax payers money so there must be accountability of the contractors and government employees.
He cautioned the officer of the District administration and Rural Development Department not to test the patience of the elected representatives and not muzzle with the autonomy of Panchayti Raj Institutions in J&K.
The AJKPC leaders urged the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Commissioner/ Secretary Rural Development Department, Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu to take appropriate action in this matter to avoid confrontation and let the Panchayti Raj Institutions and elected PRI members works without any interference.
They demanded that UC for works done in rural areas under CAPEX budget should be issued by Gram Sabha instead of District administration for ensuring transparency and accountability and works up to Rs 3 lakh not be awarded through e-tendering. There should be an approval of Rs 1.00 lakh for every snow bound Panchayat for snow clearing/emergency issues during winters.
BDC Member Imam, AK Pandita, BDC Gh Hassan Reshi, Muzafar Ahmed Reshi- Sarpanch, Shahnawaz Malik-Sarpanch, Manoj Pandita- Sarpanch and others also addressed the conference.
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