AJKPC reiterates demand for immediate implementation of 73rd, 74th Amendments in J&K

Jammu: Ahead of the third phase of the government’s ambitious Back to Village (B2V),  All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), the premier body of Panchayat representatives of J&K, has reiterated its long-pending demand for full implementation of all 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 UT.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.The AJKPC president accused the bureaucrats sitting in the power corridors of a hatching 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‘Babus’ continue to remain relevant and keep control over them.Sharma said it is more than a year since Article 370 was repealed but it is a sorry state of affairs that even as on date these important provisions of Indian Constitutions have not been implemented in J&K.The AJKPC leader said that the 73rd amendment and 74th amendments of Constitution of India were adopted by Parliament of India in 1992 and 1993 respectively but Article 370 was a barrier and obstruction that did not allow their implementation here in J&K and that caused huge loss to grassroots level democracy.He said after repeal 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 grass root level democratic institutions but the dreams had been shattered as nothing concrete was done in this regard so far.

 Sharma said that only solution to atleast 70 percent problems of Jammu and Kashmir is autonomous, empowered, 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 J&K UT’s Babus and are bspent in wards and panchayts through democratic method.Other office bearers of AJKPC also interacted with the media and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Law Minister Ravi Shanker Prasad and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to consider their demand for implementing 73rd and 74th Amendments in J&K without any further.Other prominent leaders of AJKPC those were present in the press conference were Sarpanch Soma Devi, Sarpanch Pyaria Lal, Sarpanch Kuldeep Sharma, Sarpanch Balbir Singh, Sarpanch Mansa Ram, Sarpanch Anil Barsala, Sarpanch Romal Singh and Sarpanch Omkar Singh.