*Extend tenure of Panchayats by 2 yrs: Anil
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 20: All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) has alleged that even after abrogation of Article 370, the security of the PRI members has remained prime concern in J&K.
Addressing a press conference at Srinagar today Anil Sharma, president AJKPC, a premier registered organization working for the welfare of Panchayat members urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor, J&K to address the security concerns of the Panchayat Members and provide necessary security to the PRI members.
He said requests for providing security to Panches, Sarpanches, BDC chairpersons are lying pending with the district police officers of Kashmir division and Security wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police but the concerned officers are neither providing the required security nor rejecting their applications and the lives of these PRI members and their families remained under threat.
Sharma said, “Contrary to the expectations, even after abrogation of article 370, individual security of PRI members remains a prime concern in Jammu and Kashmir and more specific in the valley”. While expressing serious concern over security threat, the AJKPC president informed that several Panches, Sarpanches have been killed even after August 2019.
On the issue of pre-ponement of Panchayat elections in Jammu and Kashmir before expiry of actual tenure of the existing Panchayats, the Panchayat leader said, AJKPC would oppose any such move with full force and not let any such undemocratic move to be executed in J&K. He demanded extension of existing Panchayats.
He urged the Government to extend the tenure of Panchayats till end of December 2025 and hold the Panchayat elections in January 2026 along with District Development Councils’ elections. Due to Covid Pandemic and political disturbance after abrogation of Article 370, precious time of over 30 months have been wasted, thus it is in the best interest of everyone that tenure of the existing Panchayats be extended and elections are held in January 2026, he insisted.
He said, All the members of the AJKPC have high hopes on the Prime Minister Modi that, he would listen to the voice of thousands of PRI members and extend the tenure of the existing Panchayats.
It was pointed out that 100s of Panchayats are not notified in Kashmir division as in many of these Panchayats either the post of Sarpanch is vacant and in other places Panches posts are vacant and for notification of Panchayat there should be full quorum which includes Sarpanch as well as Panches. He asked the J&K Elections Commission to hold election to these un-notified Panchayats at an earliest.
Senior AJKPC members AK Pandita, Ghulam Hassan Reshi, Nazir Ahmad Raina, Nazir Ahmad Rather, Abdul Rashid Bhat and others were also present.
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