The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has laid stress on holding of Panchayat elections in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh without any further delay so that rural local bodies start getting financial assistance of crores of rupees from the Union Government for the development of villages, which otherwise has been kept on hold.
In its report tabled in the Parliament during the current session, the Standing Committee has observed, “the 73rd Constitutional Amendment made it compulsory for the all the States and UTs to hold elections for Panchayats in every five years at the village level. Further, Article 243E (3) of the Constitution provides that elections to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed before the expiry of its duration and before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution”.
“Therefore, the timely conduct of Panchayat elections is a Constitutional requirement to be strictly complied by the all States/UTs. However, Panchayat elections could not be held due to various reasons in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh”, the Standing Committee said, adding “the delay in conducting Panchayat elections has resulted in crores of Union Government grants for village development projects/ schemes being kept on hold”.
“There is a need to have duly elected local rural bodies to release these grants/funds to the Panchayat and utilize these funds in various ongoing welfare schemes for the villagers”, stressed the Standing Committee comprising of 29 Members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
It has strongly recommended that Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj should take up this matter at the highest level to ensure that purpose of 73rd Constitutional Amendment Bill may not be defeated by non-holding of Panchayat elections.
The Standing Committee has observed that there are a total of 4291 Gram Panchayats in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Out of this, 1115 Panchayats are service ready under BharatNet Project and further only 442 Panchayats are operational. Similarly, in Ladakh UT there are total 193 Gram Panchayats and all are service ready. However, only 23 are operational.
It is pertinent to mention here that BharatNet scheme, a flagship program of the Union Government, aims to provide broadband connectivity to all Gram Panchayats enabling access to e-governance, e-health, e-education and other digital services.
The Parliamentary Panel has further observed that in Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory 827 Gram Panchayats are without Panchayat Bhawan till date.
Pointing towards construction of Panchayat Bhawan under Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), the Standing Committee has mentioned that during the financial year 2022-23 a total of 500 Panchayat Bhawans were approved for construction but only 10 were constructed. Likewise, during the financial year 2023-24, 500 were approved but only 30 were constructed. In 2024-25 financial year, 970 were approved and 221 were constructed.
The Standing Committee has also noticed pendency in terms of wage liabilities and material share under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
The pending liability of wages as on February 15, 2025 in respect of Jammu and Kashmir UT was Rs 137.26 crore while as the same with regard to material was to the tune of Rs 137.41 crore.
The mandate of the Act is to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
In respect of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA) whose objective is to monitor the implementation of the programmes/Schemes of Central Government, the Parliamentary Panel has pointed out that there are a total of 20 DISHAs in J&K UT. During the financial year 2023-24, only 8 DISHA meetings were convened while as during the current financial year as on February 15, 2025, 11 meetings were convened by the concerned Members of the Parliament. As currently Parliament is in session, there are remote chances of holding of more DISHA meetings during the current financial year, which is going to end in next 15 days.(Excelsior)
