SrinagarDespite demands for separate Panchayat and civic polls for Jammu and Ladkah regions, the government has made it clear that these elections wont be held separately.
Official sources said that due to the unfavorable situation in the Kashmir region, political parties from Jammu had demanded that Panchayat and civic polls should be conducted in Jammu and Ladakh regions so that these two regions get centres funding.
However, sources said that the government has decided not to hold polls in any of the regions for now. The government wants elections should be conducted in all the three regions. This means the polls wont be held in Jammu and Ladakh regions separately, a senior official said.
The state election office cant take the decision on panchayat polls in Jammu and Kashmir unless it gets a nod from the state government in absence of State Election Commission.
Elections to panchayats were last held in April-May 2011 during Omar Abdullah led National Conference-Congress regime after a gap of 37 years. The government postponed these polls for several times in the last two years year.
Between 2011 and 2015, the government said that 10 Sarpanches were killed and three injured by gunmen in the valley while 20 resigned following threats from militant outfits.
The centre has also withheld funds around Rs 1,000 crore for the last seven years that was budgeted to the state after forming civic body, a senior official of the Housing and Urban Development said.
Official sources said the state government had requested the centre several times to release the Rs 1000 crore for urban local bodies of the state as an exceptional case that the situation was not conducive in the valley to hold polls for the past many years.
As the civic polls could not be held since 2011, the official said the state government had again requested to release these funds for developmental works. The centre told the state government recently that these funds cant be released in view of non-holding of urban local bodiespolls in J&K, the official said. The state will lose further funds if elected municipal bodies are not in place.
The centre has budgeted around Rs 1300 crore to the centre as per the 14th Finance Commission Awards from 2015-2020.
Official sources, said the ULBs were entitled for Rs 350 crores during 2016-2017. These funds were not provided to the state in absence of elected municipalities. (KNS)
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 | |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |