Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Abdul Haq Khan today informed the Legislative Assembly that Government is committed to hold Panchayat elections by March this year. "Process has been initiated for holding fresh Panchayat elections. As soon as Halqa Panchayat elections are held, the process for 2nd and 3rd tier shall be initiated accordingly, as both these tiers of Panchayati Raj system are co-terminus with the Halqa Panchayat elections," he informed the house.Responding to the points raised in a question by Rajiv Jasrotia, the Minister said that the 73rd amendment is not applicable to the J&K in view of the Special Constitutional Position enjoyed by the state under constitution of India.
However, he said that Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act 2014 has been enacted to bring in the broader features of the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India. The Minister also said that process for appointments under MGNREGA has been initiated by the department.Regarding transparency in working of the Rural Development Department, the Minister said all the developmental works taken up by the Department pertaining to MGNREGA, IAY, SBM are being uploaded in MIS and respective websites of the Rural Development Department. "Government has also introduced concept of geo-tagging of the assets created by the department which are all in public domain and all payments are being made directly to the beneficiaries," he said.