Govt committed to strengthen Panchayati Raj in state: Speaker

The Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Kavinder Gupta today said the BJP-PDP coalition government was committed towards strengthening the Panchayati Raj institution in the state.
"The BJP-PDP coalition government is committed to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institution in the state," he said while addressing a public rally in his constituency today.
He said the Panchayati Raj was a historic institution and was functional in every village, having executive as well as judicial powers, even in the medieval times.
He accused the previous government of being "incapable" of giving a democratic momentum to the Panchayati system and of catering to the needs of the rural development.

"The incapability of the previous government can be judged from the fact that they were not able to develop the requisite democratic momentum and failed to cater to the needs of rural development" he said.
He said the previous NC-Congress government lacked the political will to share power and resources with local level institutions which halted the implementation of welfare schemes at the grassroots level.
He said the country and the state can develop when there is devolution of power to the grassroots level.
"Empowering the Panchayati Raj institutions will give a boost to the development process and will bring transparency and accountability in the system" he said.