Jammu, Dec 4: The Elected Panchayat members under the leadership of All Jammu Kashmir Panchayat Conference state president Anil Sharma during 168-hour-long hunger strike, which had entered the second consecutive day today against the non-payment of Rs 1,000 crore MGNREGA liabilities raised noisy slogans against the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department and the Secretary of the department for misleading the Union Government and the Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu over the sensitive MGNREGA issue.
It said that it is highly unfortunate that poor labourers who executed works and the mates who expended their hard earned money to manage the development works have been facing hardships due to non-clearance of their dues, adding that they had put the UT Administration on a legal notice for 15 days for resolution of the issue but the Administration did not bother to address the genuine issue of the people.
Sharma said that what more can be unfortunate than the fact that the administration has discriminated the deaths of an officer and a Sarpanch while announcing ex-gratia for the former. While the J&K administration has sanctioned a special ex-gratia of Rs 30 lakhs in favour of the next of kin of Junior Agriculture Extension Officer, the Lieutenant Governor has only directed the Rural Development Department to process the compensation case of the NoKs of the Late Sarpanch, Syed Mohammad Rafi.
Sharma further added that it reflects that J&K administration does not give any value to the life of the elected Panchayat members & this kind of attitude is quite shocking and shameful.
The Panchayat members also demanded adequate security cover to Sarpanches and Panches in vulnerable areas and enhancement of their monthly honorarium from existing Rs 2,500 (Sarpanch) and Rs 1,000 (Panch) to a respectable and reasonable amount.
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