Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 14: J&K Border Area Development Conference (JKBADC) has demanded that J&K Government should announce a fixed date for Panchayat elections in the UT.
In a handout Dr Shazad Ahmed Malik, chairman JKBADC stated that the term of Panches, Sarpanches and block level developmental councils have expired over a year ago but still there is no announcement by the government to conduct Panchayat Polls.
He said that Panchayats are the first and most important level of democracy and depriving the people of their elected representatives is not only a statutory violation but also against the spirit of the Constitution.
“Due to the long delay in elections, people are facing many problems in their daily life,” Malik maintained adding that the developmental works in villages have slowed down badly in the absence of elected Panchayat representatives.
He further claimed that issues related to village roads, drinking water, electricity and sanitation are not being addressed properly by the bureaucrats and the people have no elected representatives to approach for their issues and grievances.
“Situation is even worse in border areas as border residents depend a lot on Panchayats to raise their problems,” Malik stated demanding a fixed timeline for Urban Local Bodies’ elections after clearing the delimitation at an earliest.
The post Fix date for Panchayat elections: JKBADC to authorities appeared first on Daily Excelsior.