Union minister calls for strengthening Panchayati Raj in

Union Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has pledged to strengthen three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Tomar made the assurance to a delegation of All Arunachal Pradesh Panchayati Parishad (AAPPP) led by its Secretary General Sangha Tagik as they called on him in New Delhi yesterday and apprised about the dismal affairs of PRIs in the state.
Tomar was shocked to known that though district planning committee (DPC) was constituted on December 4, 2006 to decentralise planning in all districts, presently they are headed by Deputy Commissioners, instead of Zilla Parishad chairpersons, an AAPPP release said today.

The minister immediately asked the Panchayat Secretary Jitendra Shankar Mathur to take up the issue with the state government to transfer the DPC Chairmanship to Zilla Parishad Chairperson forthwith as it had violated Article 243ZD of Constitution, an official release informed here today.
The memorandum was signed by ZPCs including Tagik from Kurung Kumey district, Jowkhong Singpho (Changlang), Santung Lowang Yagsia (Tirap) and Yaman Bagra (West Siang).
The memorandum further stressed on the need for close cooperation between the Army and security forces with civilians as the state shares borders with three countries and requested the minister to move the home and defence ministries for creating provision to exclusively recruit locals in group 'C' and 'D' posts to serve as the bedrock of the Army and security forces.