Jharkhand to extend tenure of panchayats: Alamgir Alam

RANCHI: The Jharkhand government is mulling to bring in a special ordinance to extend the tenure of the panchayat bodies in the state for another six months considering the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which has prevented the election, state rural development cum parliamentary affairs minister Alamgir Alam said on Sunday. There are over 4,000 panchayats in the state.
Alam said, “The panchayat polls are overdue as we couldn’t hold it in December last year because of the pandemic. In January this year, the state government gave a six-month extension to the panchayat bodies to keep them operational. But with the second wave of Covid-19, we cannot hold the election this time, too. As per the rules of the Panchayati Raj Act, there is no provision to provide another extension. Therefore, we are considering to provide another extension through a special ordinance.”
The current six-months extension to the panchayat bodies will expire on July 15 before which the state government has to bring in the ordinance. Sources said the issue is likely to be taken up in the next cabinet meeting slated to be held in the next few days.
Alam said if all goes well, the government is eyeing to hold the election by the year-end and the groundwork has been initiated. “Works like delimitation and preparation of the voter lists among others are already underway by the state election commission,” he said.
Earlier this month, Alam held a meeting with his departmental officials to explore possibilities of holding the panchayat polls and directed the authorities concerned to prepare an alternative road map to keep panchayat bodies operational.
“The government is putting in all efforts to keep the panchayat bodies operational so that ongoing development work at the grassroots is not hampered,” Alam added.