Report from Kamran Rashid Bhat
Srinagar: The Administrative Council which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, today approved the proposal of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj to issue a notification for conducting elections to vacant Sarpanch/Panch constituencies. The detailed schedule will be finalised by the election authorities.
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Filling of the vacant constitutional posts will ensure devolution of powers and proper grass root planning in the 3rd-tier of the Local Self Government. It will ensure that the non-functional Panchayats become functional.
Earlier, general elections to 39,521 Sarpanch/Panch constituencies in 4,483 Halqa Panchayats were conducted in 2018 of which 13,257 positions are vacant due to resignation, removal, election of Sarpanch as BDC Chairpersons, death, and non-availability of candidates at the time of election. Among them, 1,089 vacancies pertain to the office of Sarpanch, whereas 12,168 are Panch vacancies.
Read more from HUN: Jammu & Kashmir: Advisor to Lt. Governor Baseer Khan condemns killing of BDC chairman
