Saima Bhat
Srinagar
Finally the wait was over, after a week long discussion on the powers and rights of Panchayat Raj Institution (PRI), when state government broke its lull and spoke about the ground situation of the Panchs and Sarpanchs in the legislative assembly today.
On the recent controversy over the killings and security of Panchs and Sarpanchs, Ali Mohammad Sagar, the minister for rural development, law, justice, parliamentary affairs and Panchayat Raj, said, “Despite having security ministers and MLAs were killed from time to time, I am not able to understand why opposition parties demand for providing security guards to the 34000 elected Panchs and Sarpanchs”. He added that the government is also worried about the killings and is working for the measurements to make whole environment conducive. He informed the house that the Chief Minisiter Omar Abdullah has already ordered in the unified high command meeting that all the vulnerable areas in the state should be sensitized.
“14 vital departments have been identified functioning of which will be supervised by the Panchayat members and provision of honorarium to Panchayat members is also under active consideration of the government,” Sagar informed,
All of the opposition parties and the coalition partner are supporting for the incorporation of 73rd amendment in the law which state was opposing but today, the lawmaker, Sagar said that his government will incorporate every amendment that can democratize PRI.
Asserting that holding of Panchayat elections in the state is a land mark achievement of the present government, Sagar said that the holding of panchayat elections was a collective decision of all parties to make people partners of development in rural areas and nobody would be allowed to derail the process.
Sagar also informed the house that the sole objective of the PRI is for the development of the rural areas and it should not be linked with the politics and Kashmir issue. He said nobody should try to take political benefit on the issue of PRI System. “Kashmir problem is on an admitted fact which needs political solution and Panchayats has nothing to do with it”, Mr. Sagar added.
The minister invited all opposition parties to come up with good suggestions to strengthen the PRI and his party is ready to incorporate them all including the good provisions of the 73rd amendments in J&K PR Act which will help to further strengthen these basic units of democracy.
To empower Panchayats financially, Sagar said central government has approved Rs. 600 crore in 13th Finance Commission for the state, out of it Rs. 166 crore has been released to Panchayats anod Rs. 2.30 crore has been earmarked as Budget Supplement for Panchayats in the current year’s annual plan.
Government also said that they are educating Panchs and Sarpanchs at block level for their effective and mechanism and for this purpose, village secretaries are monitoring their functionaries. So far, government says that they have conducted 440 training camps including one with a private NGO, Priya for which GOI had given Rs 5 crores.
