Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced on Tuesday that parliament panels would be “encouraged” to visit Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Ladakh and other far-flung areas during their study tours for better parliamentary outreach in these parts of the country.

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At the end of his week-long tour of J&K and Ladakh, Birla said, “I will ask the 16 House panels under the jurisdiction of Lok Sabha to frequently visit these far-flung areas and interact with local people and grassroot level bodies and administration.”
Birla, who planned the parliamentary outreach programme for J&K panchayat bodies, urged all democratic institutions to “work together” to “improve people’s lives”. “If panchayati raj is strong, we can improve our governance and delivery system and create atmanirbhar villages,” he said.