Ranchi: Uncertainty looms over the election to the three-tier panchayati system in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. The lack of a state election commissioner (SEC), too, has become a major hurdle in chalking out the modalities for the elections, which are due in December. The term of the existing panchayats will expire next month on January 4.
State panchayati raj director Aditya Ranjan said that the government was yet to decide on holding the polls. “We have recently suggested the names of four retired judges to the government. We will get a clarity on the elections only after the SEC is chosen,” he said, adding that there was still a chance that elections could be held prior to the dissolution of the existing panchayat bodies.
Asked what will happen if the polls get delayed, he said, “Then the state government will have to form samitis to run the panchayats till the polls are conducted.”
Vikash Mahto, the president of the Jharkhand State Mukhiya Sangh, has appealed to the government to extend the tenure of panchayat bodies in the event of polls getting delayed. “Mukhiyas and panchayat bodies have played a crucial role in combating Covid-19 by conducting awareness drives and implementing schemes in their jurisdiction to prevent infection. At the same time, they also walked the extra mile to offer jobs during the lockdown crisis to scores of migrants. Without functional panchayats, development work at the grass-roots will take a hit leading to rural distress. Hence, the government must consider giving an extension of six months to all the elected panchayat bodies,” he said.