<span style="color: #222222;">Government is working to strengthen grassroots democracy and give people a voice in Jammu and Kashmir. Everywhere Gram Sabhas are being organised, developmental works are being planned, approved and executed at grassroots level and with enthusiastic public participation. This can be attributed to the pathbreaking decision of conducting Panchayati Raj elections in 2018. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The 9-phase Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Elections in 2018 witnessed a record voter turnout of 74.1 per cent. This was instrumental in kickstarting the grassroots developmental phase of rural Jammu and Kashmir. Out of total 4,483 Sarpanch constituencies, 3,650 Sarpanches were elected and out of 35,029 Panch constituencies, as many as 23,660 Panches emerged as winners. 3,395 panchayats were duly constituted. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Wherever panchayats could not be constituted, administrators were duly appointed for running the affairs of the panchayats smoothly. Prior to the Panchayati raj elections, the government took a slew of landmark decisions and brought about much needed amendments to strengthen and empower the rural local bodies in real sense.</span><br />