Raja Syed Rather

Srinagar, Oct 29: The Jammu and Kashmir government has said that the proposal to re-notify Chatterhama, Ahal, and Danihama areas as rural is presently under examination, following requests from locals who are largely dependent on agriculture.

In a written response, the government, per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that Chatterhama was brought under the jurisdiction of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) as per SRO-72 dated March 2, 2016, and classified under Ward No. 73. However, it was de-notified as an urban area through SRO-108 dated March 13, 2017, and brought under the J&K Panchayati Raj Act, 1989.

It said that at present, Chatterhama continues to fall within the municipal limits of District Srinagar and functions as part of Ward No. 73 under SMC jurisdiction.

“The area is semi-urban with rural characteristics, and a considerable portion of residents in Ahal and Danihama depend on agriculture for their livelihood”.

The government said that the local population has expressed willingness for re-notification of these areas under the Rural Development Department.

“The Block Level Committee constituted for this purpose has submitted its recommendations, which have been endorsed by the Assistant Commissioner Panchayat, Srinagar,” it said.

The government added that the report from the Deputy Commissioner, Srinagar, is awaited and the case will be disposed of on its merits after fulfillment of all formalities and approval of the competent authority—(KNO)