Parliamentary Panel Calls for Urgent Panchayat Elections in J&K and Ladakh

Funds for Rural Development Stalled Amid Delays
₹274 Crore Wage and Material Liability Under MGNREGA

JAMMU, March 15: The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has strongly urged the Union Government to conduct Panchayat elections in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh without further delay. The panel emphasized that the absence of elected rural bodies has led to a significant halt in financial assistance worth crores of rupees from the Union Government, severely impacting village development projects.

The committee’s report, tabled in Parliament during the ongoing session, highlighted that the 73rd Constitutional Amendment mandates the conduct of Panchayat elections every five years across all States and Union Territories. Additionally, Article 243E (3) of the Constitution explicitly states that elections to reconstitute Panchayats must be completed before their term expires or within six months of dissolution.

“Timely conduct of Panchayat elections is a constitutional obligation that must be strictly adhered to by all States and UTs. However, elections have not been held in J&K and Ladakh due to various reasons, leading to a halt in the release of crucial grants for village development,” the report stated.

The Parliamentary Committee, comprising 29 members from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, stressed the need for elected local bodies to unlock the funds required for implementing welfare schemes in rural areas. It recommended that the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj take immediate steps at the highest levels to ensure that the purpose of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment is not undermined by further delays in holding Panchayat elections.

The report provided a detailed breakdown of Panchayat structures in the two UTs:

• Jammu & Kashmir: Of the 4,291 Gram Panchayats, only 1,115 are service-ready under the BharatNet project, and just 442 are operational.
• Ladakh: The region has 193 Gram Panchayats, all of which are service-ready, but only 23 are operational.

BharatNet, a flagship initiative of the Union Government, aims to provide broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats to enable e-governance, e-health, e-education, and other digital services. The panel expressed concern that the absence of elected Panchayats is preventing the effective utilization of this digital infrastructure.

The report also flagged a significant gap in the construction of Panchayat Bhawans under the Revamped Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA):

• 2022-23: 500 Panchayat Bhawans were approved, but only 10 were constructed.
• 2023-24: 500 were approved, with just 30 completed.
• 2024-25: 970 were sanctioned, and 221 have been built so far.

Additionally, the report noted that 827 Gram Panchayats in J&K still do not have a Panchayat Bhawan, which further hampers local governance and administrative efficiency.

A concerning financial backlog under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was also highlighted. As of February 15, 2025, the pending wage liability in J&K stood at ₹137.26 crore, while unpaid material costs amounted to ₹137.41 crore.

MGNREGA is designed to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural households engaged in unskilled manual labor. The delay in wage payments has severely impacted thousands of families dependent on the scheme for their livelihoods.

The report also scrutinized the functioning of District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committees (DISHA), which are responsible for overseeing the implementation of Central Government schemes. In J&K UT, there are 20 such committees, but their meetings have been irregular:

• 2023-24: Only 8 DISHA meetings were held.
• 2024-25 (as of Feb 15, 2025): 11 meetings have been conducted.

With Parliament currently in session and only 15 days left in the financial year, the likelihood of holding more DISHA meetings appears slim, the report observed.