Srinagar, Aug 23 (IANS): In a landmark decision on Monday, the Jammu and Kashmir government decided that participation in the tendering process of works up to Rs 3 lakh shall be restricted to the residents of the concerned panchayats.

An official statement said, "In an important decision to accelerate the development process at the grassroot level, the government has decided that participation in the tendering process of works up to an amount of Rs 3 lakh shall be restricted to the residents of the concerned panchayats.

In the event of inadequate response to the tenders, the participation norms will be relaxed to include bidders from the neighbouring panchayats, it said.

"The decision is aimed at enhancing transparency and speedy execution of developmental works through local participation, which will also boost public ownership of the created assets.

"Residents of panchayats, who wish to participate in the tendering process, will have to get registered in a simple system of registration, to be maintained at the level of Deputy Commissioners," it said.

These registrations shall be done on the basis of documentary evidence like Aadhaar, PAN card and domicile certificate, while the verification process shall be completed through panchayats and the local police only.

"Further, to address the shortage of engineering staff in the rural development department, which may affect the pace of work in the Panchayats, the Rural Development Department has been authorised to engage optimal numbers of retired junior engineers, assistant engineers and assistant executive engineers on a contractual basis as part of the project management unit in the respective districts," the statement said.