J&K Govt enhances financial empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions

The Administrative Council (AC) which met in Jammu today under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the delegation of powers for granting administrative approval to Gram Panchayats, Block Samitis and Zila Parishads for execution of works, the expenditure of which will be met out of Panchayats’ own resources.

Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K attended the meeting.

“In order to promote the involvement of PRIs in the development process, the Government has further empowered the Panchayati Raj Institutions financially. Sequel to this decision the Gram Panchayats have been vested with an authority to accord Administrative Approval to works from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 Lakh, the Block Samitis have been delegated powers to accord Administrative Approval to works ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 Lakh and the Zila Parishad now has the powers to accord Administrative Approval upto Rs 1 Crore. The PRIs will be able to incur expenditure as per General Financial Rules” said an official spokesperson.