Setting in the process

14/09/2019

The Election Authority has set the process in motion for conducting elections to the Block Development Councils in Jammu and Kashmir by finalizing schedule for publication of final Electoral College on September 23 while the elections were likely to be held in the month of October. Prime Minister NarendraModi in his Address to Nation on August 8 which was delivered following abrogation of special Constitutional provisions of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcation of the State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh had announced conduct of the Block Development Council elections in J&K. The State Administrative Council (SAC) headed by Governor Satya Pal Malik had also given nod to the BDC elections in February this year. The election schedule including date(s) for conduct of the Block Development Council elections will be issued anytime after publication of final electoral rolls. If all goes well, the elections were likely to be held in October. There are 316 Block Development Councils in the State.
The Electoral Rolls will be prepared constituency wise. The entire block will be the constituency for election of Chairpersons of the Block Development Councils, the notification said, adding the superintendence, direction and control for preparation of Electoral Rolls is vested in the Election Authority i.e. the Chief Electoral Officer. The jurisdiction of Block Development Councils vis-à-vis the constituent PanchayatHalqas will be as per notification SRO No. 522 dated September 3 issued by the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. Along with schedule for preparation of Electoral Rolls, the Election Authority has also appointed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) in all 22 districts. The District Panchayat Officer (DPO) of every district will be the Electoral Registration Officer while the BDOs of every block will be Assistant Electoral Registration Officer of the concerned Block Development Council. The Block Development Councils will be second-tier of Panchayats to come into existence in Jammu and Kashmir, which will be followed by third tier-the District Planning and Development Boards.
About 1057 Panchayats haven't been constituted in Kashmir region due to lack of quorum. Out of a total of 4483 Panchayats in the State, there were 2135 in Kashmir. As many as 1057 Panchayats couldn't be constituted in the Valley due to lack of quorum, sources said. As per the Panchayati Raj Act of Jammu and Kashmir, there should be at least one Sarpanch and one Panch to form quorum for constitution of the Panchayats but in 1057 Panchayats, there was either Sarpanch or Panch and they couldn't be constituted. This will be for the first time that elections to second tier of Panchayats are being held in the State in past several decades.

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