J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha rules out cut in honorarium

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday denied rumours regarding any reduction or scrapping of the honorarium of Panchayati Raj or Urban Local Body representatives.

Such concerns were raised by the removal of Section 10 of the amended J&K Panchayati Raj Act, which stated the remuneration for sarpanch and panches. The Rural Development Department had earlier clarified that irrespective of the omission of Section 10, the PRIs will continue to be paid their honorarium.

But the PRIs have raised other concerns regarding the amended Act, stating that the creation of the District Development Councils “leaves them disempowered.”

“Block Development Councils are elected bodies. Now they are creating territorial constituencies which will have elected representatives. What this does is that if Block Development Chairpersons formulate plans, they can be rejected by these elected representatives,” Shafiq Mir, chairman of All J&K Panchayat Conference said.

Meanwhile, speaking at an event in Baramulla, LG Sinha stated that the UT government is not imposing property tax as being “misrepresented” by some people.

However, he said that the Urban Local Bodies are competent to decide on such issues in consultation with the public and for the development of the ULBs themselves.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.