"Omar-led government has already empowered the sarpanches and panches with the powers of 14 vital departments," Parliamentary Affairs and Panchayati Raj Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar said while inaugurating a four-storeyed Panchayat Bhawan here.
"The sarpanches and panches are the eyes, ears and arms of the Omar-led Government and civil society," he said.
The minister stressed on the proper coordination of the Panchayati Raj representatives with the concerned departments and said that government is making every possible efforts to provide infrastructural facilities to them.
He said that objective of establishing Panchayati Raj in the state and empowering such institutions is to make the development process truly participatory in every corner of the rural pockets.
Replying to a query about the Panchayat Bhawan, Sagar said the complex has been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.48 crore and the state government has released Rs 20.7 crore for construction of more such buildings in the state.