Governor NN Vohra has assented to the promulgation of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
Vohra has approved the urgent promulgation of this ordinance, during the Darbar Move period so that no time whatsoever is lost in commencing preparations for the conduct of the pending elections, said a statement, issued on Saturday.
The Governor observed that the establishment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) set up shall ensure effective participation of the people in the decision making process and enable them to oversee the implementation of developmental programmes.
It may be recalled that the Governor, in discussions with the Chief Minister since summer 2016 has been pressing for the early conduct of elections to both the urban and rural self-governing bodies. The Panchayat elections are now envisaged to be held in winter 2017-18.
Considering the time-frame for the forthcoming elections the Governor has also consented to the issue of the J&K Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance 2017 to empower the State Chief Electoral Officer to determine and de-limit halqa panchayats and to conduct the Panchayat elections.