Srinagar, Sep 1: Yet another meeting of the Coalition Coordination Committee (CCC) of the National Conference-Congress alliance on Saturday ended without any decision over conduct of elections to Block Development Councils and urban local bodies. There was no decision either on appointing members to the Public Service Commission and filling up of vacancies in Backward Classes Commission.
Chairman of the CCC, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz said the meeting “appreciated” the urgency for holding the elections as soon as possible. “We will soon work out the technicalities for completing the process,” he said.
The polls for appointing chairmen for 143 Block Development Councils would complete the second tier of Panchayat. Around 35,000 voters- 1966 Sarpanchs and 13,760 Panchs in Jammu province and 2164 Sarpanchs and 15,959 Panchs in Kashmir province- would form the Electoral College for the process.
The CCC had to take a decision on holding the polls, for the first time after more than three decades, to fill up four vacant seats of Legislative Council reserved for Panchayat members. The Panchs and Sarpanchs would form Electorate College for it too.
The issue was on the agenda. However it too remained inconclusive, sources said.
The urban local bodies are lying defunct since 2010 after the five-year term of Srinagar, Jammu Municipal corporations, six Municipal councils and 71 Municipal committees ended in March 2010.
The meeting had assumed significance in view of the Government’s oft repeated claims to hold the pending elections as early as possible for providing good governance.
Pending decision by the CC, four positions for the members in the PSC are lying vacant for a long time now. The Commission has strength of nine members including its chairman.
Soz said the CC was in the process of identifying “right people” for the job and the exercise would be completed soon.
The fate of the Backward Classes Commission would continue to hang in balance as the CC did not decide on the names for filling up of the four vacancies in it.
A CC member said the issue related to appointment of members and chairman of the Vigilance Commission was not discussed in the meeting.
The meeting, for the fourth time in row, could not evolve any consensus on any of the issues pending for long time now.
Besides Soz, Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand, Minister for Finance Abdul Rahim Rather, Minister for Rural Development and Law and Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Sagar, senior NC legislator Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan and former Minister Mangat Ram Sharma are members of the CC.
The committee decided to meet again to sort out the pending issues, Soz said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 1 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 1 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 2 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST