Last Updated on April 21, 2022 at 11:38 am
A new unit of governance, District Development Councils in Jammu and Kashmir is yet to be made fully empowered due to delay in establishing of District Planning and Development Boards and vital Committees. District Development Councils can fully come into power after the District Planning and Development Boards and vital Committees are made.
Delay in framing District Planning and Development Board which handles such various important factors such as planning for development of areas is hindering work. Even five Standing Committees for Finance, Development, Public Works, Health and Education and Welfare are required to be constituted. Similarly, District Planning Committees are important structural part of the Boards.
Chairmen of several District Development Councils told Excelsior that they have been informed that District Planning and Development Board and other Committees will be made only after the election of Members of Legislative Assembly.
As per experts, provisions of the Panchayati Raj Act, states that every District Development Council shall consist of directly elected members from territorial constituencies in the district, the Members of the Legislative Assembly representing a part or whole of the district whose constituencies lie within the district and the Chairpersons of all Block Development Councils of the district. Experts further said that in order to fully empower the third-tier of the Panchayati Raj Institutions the government should establish Boards after framing the Committees and once elected the MLAs can automatically become the members of the Boards.
