Today the term of approximately 28,000 Panchayats and Block Development Councils (BDC’s) will come to an end in Jammu and Kashmir. The grass root democracy in the Union Territory has witnessed a tremendous change in terms of developmental works with the strengthening of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI’s). As it involves the participation of the common people in the micro level administration. After the neutralization of the Article 370 the trickle-down effect of this system has brought new hope to the masses in this part of the country. It also eases the burden on the legislature by creating an integral system of attending to the issues of the masses. The participation of the people over the years in this system has reinforced their faith in the grievance redressal mechanism. Panchayats in Jammu and Kashmir have paid a heavy price for strengthening the governance at the rural level. It must be remembered that the elections for the Panchayats were successful amid the threats to the lives of the candidates by the subversive forces. Panches laid down their lives as they fell to the bullets of the assassins for defying their warnings. Their sacrifices have not gone in vain. Their blood has nurtured this system in Jammu and Kashmir amid all odds. Moreover, the important thing that these Panchayat elections contributed was that the campaigning was absolutely based on the developmental issues and not on scoring political points. This is indeed a welcome contribution. Now that their term has ended, it will take at least six months to constitute the new Panchayats. The Jammu and Kashmir Government is shortly going to come up with an order appointing the Administrators with all the powers and duties of the Panchayats due to the vacuum created by the completion of their term in order to strengthen this institution and make it more inclusive. The Union Territory Government has approved an amendment to provide the reservation to the OBC’s. It will be followed by an annual revision of the voter rolls for the Panchayats. These rolls are scheduled to be published on 26th February. It is clear that once the percentage of reservation is underlined for the OBC’s. Then the decision will be taken on the number of Sarpanch and Panch constituencies. It will include the delimitation of the wards as well. It is a foregone conclusion that this exercise will take five to six months. It is pertinent to mention that the draft rolls of Panchayats will be published on 15th January. There is a provision for claims and objections by the voters till 5th February and the final rolls will be published on 26th February. Keeping this scenario in view the UT administration must gear up to put things in place. So that this stop gap arrangement can be managed well till the Panchayat elections are held to restore the Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRI’s).It must be kept in mind that the functioning of the grass root democracy has taken decades in Jammu and Kashmir to limp back to the normal working condition. It has acted as the local support system for the masses. As Panchayats have a local sanction. It enables the common masses to get their issues sorted without hindrance and unusual impediments. The good work done by the Panches and Sarpanches has given people confidence that Jammu and Kashmir is like any other region of India where grievance redressal mechanism can be people friendly and the voice of the people can be heard. Panchayats and BDC’s are the building blocks of democracy. The UT administration must hold Panchayat and BDC elections in time. It will pave the way for the successful Lok Sabha Elections and Assembly Elections that are round the corner.
