All J&K panchayats dissolved, leaving governance to bureaucracy

All panchayats in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir will stand dissolved today, January 9th, 2024. With the expiration of their five-year terms, the powers of Block Development Councils (BDCs), Sarpanchs (village heads), and Panchs (village council members) will cease. This leaves the reins of local governance in the hands of the bureaucracy.

While responsibilities of BDC members are likely to be taken over by Block Development Officers (BDOs), Panchayat Secretaries might assume the duties of Sarpanchs. Appointing administrators for the panchayats is another possibility, with a decision expected within the next 2-3 days.

The last panchayat elections were held in late 2018, resulting in the selection of 27,281 Panchs and 4,892 Sarpanchs for 4,892 panchayats across the UT. However, fresh elections will depend on the completion of delimitation proceedings. On December 28th, 2023, the Panchayati Raj Department instructed all BDOs to submit proposals ensuring equal voter distribution for each panchayat.

J&K Panchayat Conference President Anil Sharma has urged the immediate conduct of panchayat elections. Alternatively, he suggests extending the term of current representatives until the next elections can be held. He stresses the willingness of Panchayat members to serve without remuneration and proposes assigning BDOs to BDC positions and Panchayat Secretaries to Sarpanch roles, highlighting the potential freeze of 23 lakhs allocated annually to each panchayat if left unrepresented.

With the dissolved Assembly, elected representatives in J&K now operate solely as Members of Parliament. The last Assembly elections took place in 2014, with the Assembly dissolved in 2018. No fresh elections have been held since. As J&K navigates this period of transition, citizens await clarity on the future of local governance and the resumption of democratic processes at the Panchayat level.