Srinagar, Sep 5: The State cabinet on Wednesday failed to evolve consensus on holding much awaited elections to the Block Development Council and Urban Local Bodies in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the cabinet which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah discussed the issue threadbare. “However no decision was taken on timing and conduct of the polls,” sources said.
They said while the cabinet was of the view that both the elections should be held during this calendar year, the Minister for Housing and Urban Development Department had some reservations on the issue.
“The minister cited incompletion of the delimitation process as a reason for his department not being prepared for conduct of polls to Urban Local Bodies,” sources said.
The Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had last month asked Rural Development and Housing and Urban Development Departments to make necessary arrangements for holding the BDC and Municipal elections.
The elections for constitution of Panchayats were held in JK in 2011 after more than three decades. As per the Panchayat Act the polls for setting up of the Block Development Councils and District Development Councils were to be completed in three months after constitutions of Deh Majlis (village assembly). The polls to BDCs and DDCs would complete the second and third tier of Panchayati Raj in J&K.
For the second tier of Panchayats, the chairmen for 143 Block Development Councils would be elected by 35,000 voters - 1966 Sarpanchs and 13,760 Panchs in Jammu province and 2164 Sarpanchs and 15,959 Panchs in Kashmir province.
The local bodies in the J&K are non-existent since 2010. The five-year term of Srinagar, Jammu Municipal corporations, six Municipal councils and 71 Municipal committees in J&K ended in March 2010.
Sources said the Cabinet approved draft legislation for protection of people against duping by fake financial establishments. The bill in this regard was prepared by the Finance Department.
The bill was necessitated after reports that many unauthorized and unknown financial establishments duped people of their savings by closing their operations in J&K fleeing away during the past.
Under the draft legislation stringent punishment has been proposed against owners of bogus financial establishments.
Under the proposal, the Government can attach property acquired by the financial establishments or personal assets of the promoters, partners, directors, managers of the bogus financial establishments if it is satisfied that the financial establishment has failed to return the deposit after maturity or on demand by depositors/failed to pay interest or other assured benefits and return deposits or pay interest to the depositors.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 5 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 5 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 6 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST