Source: theprint.in<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Srinagar:<\/strong> Barely nine months after panchayat elections were held in Jammu and Kashmir, elected members in the Valley are demanding another round of polls, opposing a decision by the state to appoint government employees as administrators to look after panchayat affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The elected members, mostly affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are also planning to file a petition in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to oppose the state administration\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their anger stems from an order issued by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, on 20 June, appointing government employees from the social welfare, agriculture, revenue, education, handloom, forest and horticulture departments to look after work usually handled by elected sarpanchs and panchs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The administration has cited the lack of quorum in 390 panchayat bodies across the state, of which 368 are in the Kashmir division, for its decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Each panchayat in the Valley has a sarpanch and can have a maximum of 10 panchs. The quorum for a panchayat to function is just two members \u2014 the sarpanch and a panch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There has been a lack of panchayat members, however, as not enough people in the Valley were willing to fight the elections of October 2018 either due to militant threats or the call given by main political parties \u2014 the National Conference and the Peoples Democratic Party \u2014 to boycott them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result, as many as 368 panchayats do not have the quorum to function and have not been notified by the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The administration\u2019s decision to delegate the panchayat work to government employees has triggered angry reactions from the elected members with some threatening to approach the J&K High Court. Many say government employees cannot replace elected representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have a general store in Jammu but I came to Kashmir to fight the elections risking my life and leaving my family behind. This is what we get in response,\u201d said Mahesh Dhar, a sarpanch from Chakoora division in south Kashmir. \u201cDo we have the right to work for our people or do we have to be subservient to government employees?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ghulam Mohammad Mir, the sarpanch in south Kashmir\u2019s Lidder Halqa, said the party (BJP) had millions to hold functions but not a single rupee for the people of Kashmir. \u201cI want to put this on record, I will soon be beaten up by the people in my tehsil, and the people there should not even be blamed,\u201d Mir said. \u201cThe government is taking decisions without even consulting us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Mir and Dhar are affiliated to the BJP and were present at a sarpanch convention held at the Srinagar BJP office Thursday. Manoj Pandit is among the sarpanchs to be notified but he has decided to stand with the elected members whose elections have not been notified by the administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForget notification, we have not been issued an ID card. Many are still living in Srinagar hotels and haven\u2019t gone back home fearing militant reprisals,\u201d said Pandit, who is also affiliated to the BJP. \u201cWe were promised security and even that wasn\u2019t given. Salaries are yet to come. I want to ask what is the administration doing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sajid Raina, a sarpanch from Pulwama, the region with the most incomplete panchayats, said, \u201cWhat options do we have besides approaching the court? We demand re-elections be held in the Valley or at least make the mandate of the government employees appointed as administrators clear. They should report to us till the time re-elections are held.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ashok Kaul, general secretary of the state BJP who handles the party\u2019s panchayat affairs, said he was looking into the matter. \u201cDue to the boycott call and also due to fear of militants a lot of quorums remained incomplete,\u201d Kaul told ThePrint. \u201cNow after parliamentary elections, fear of militants has subsided. We are looking at the option of re-elections as well.\u201dI will be beaten up in my tehsil\u2019: Elected members furious<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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