Conduct block council polls, demands Leh delegation

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, June 15

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A delegation of the panchayat coordination committee, Leh, on Saturday urged Governor Satya Pal Malik to empower the panchayat institutions by extending the 73rd Amendment to the state and conduct early elections to the block development councils.

The delegation led by Sonam Wangchuk, a renowned innovator and educationist from Ladakh, expressed gratitude to the Governor for announcing the Cluster University for Ladakh and for successful conduct of panchayat elections. Other members of the delegation included Gitanjli, founding CEO, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL), Ladakh, and Sonam Thardos, chairman of the committee.

The panchayat coordination committee also demanded an increase in honorarium for panches and sarpanches of Ladakh, keeping in view the efforts required in the harsh climatic conditions in the region. It also sought to give free hand to Ladakh’s hill councils and panchayats for innovative school management experiments in the primary schools, to be conducted with support of reputed local and national NGOs.

Wangchuk proposed to partner in the building of a 50-MW solar power pilot project in Phey village as a part of the HIAL University for imparting hands-on training to Ladakhi youth, providing support with R&D of the project.