Ahead of third phase of government’s ambitious “Back to Village (B2V)” programme, All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), an umbrella organization of Panchayat representatives of J&K, has reiterated its long pending demand for full implementation of all the provisions of 73rd and 74th amendments of Constitution in J&K.
Addressing a press conference here, Anil Sharma, president AJKPC along with other senior office bearers of the organization, renewed their demand for full implementation of 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution in J&K.
Sharma said, “Successive regimes of J&K have delayed and rejected the demand for implementation of these provisions on the pretext of Article 370 but it is unfortunate that even the present government of J&K UT is being reluctant in implementing these important provisions for strengthening the urban and rural local bodies”.
He accused the bureaucrats of hatching a conspiracy to undermine local bodies so that these ‘Babus’ continue to remain relevant and keep control over them.
Sharma said it is more than a year since Article 370 was repealed but it is a sorry state of affairs that even as on date these important provisions of the Constitution have not been implemented in J&K.
He said that the 73rd amendment and 74th amendments of Constitution of India were adopted by Parliament in 1992 and 1993, respectively, but Article 370 was a barrier that did not allow their implementation in J&K and that caused huge loss to grassroots level democracy.
{{/usCountry}}He said that the 73rd amendment and 74th amendments of Constitution of India were adopted by Parliament in 1992 and 1993, respectively, but Article 370 was a barrier that did not allow their implementation in J&K and that caused huge loss to grassroots level democracy.
{{/usCountry}}“After revocation of Article 370 and Article 35-A there was jubilation amongst the elected panches, sarpanches and councillors as they were expecting real empowerment through special laws for giving more powers to these grassroot level democratic institutions but the dreams had been shattered as nothing concrete was done in this regard so far,” he added.
Sharma said that the solution to at least 70 percent problems of Jammu and Kashmir lies in autonomous, empowered and powerful democratic institutions at micro level and that can be assured only through immediate implementation of 73rd and 74th amendment of Constitution in the UT so that all funds directly reach to local bodies without any interference of the bureaucrats.