Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam on Sunday said that preparations are on to extend the tenure of Panchayats in the State and an extension of six months was likely. For this, the State Government is going to bring an ordinance soon, he added.
Alam said that the State Government could not hold elections in December 2020 due to the Corona transition period. In such a situation, after the expiry of the term of Panchayats earlier this year, it was decided to extend their tenure for six months.
“The tenure will end on July 15. But even now it was not possible to hold elections till June-July due to Covid-19 infection. In such a situation, development work can get stuck at many levels due to non-availability of Panchayats. In view of this, preparations are being made to bring an ordinance to ensure that the development of Panchayats is not obstructed, the work continues. After this, a decision can be taken to extend his tenure once again for another six months,” said Alam.
Expressing hope, the Minister said that after the situation becomes normal, the work of Panchayat elections in the state will be completed in the last week of December. After the completion of the three-tier Panchayat elections by December 20-21, there will be no need to extend the term for the third time. On the question of cabinet expansion and the 12th Minister in the State Government he said that full authority on this subject comes in the domain of the Chief Minister. At present, as far as the issue of 12th Minister in the State Government is concerned, there is no information, he added.