The Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to hold the panchayat elections from February 15, Greater Kashmir reported. The date was announced after Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti met Governor NN Vohra in Jammu on Monday.

“The governor reiterated his concern about the vital importance of ensuring prompt redressal of public grievances and for the entire administrative system to function in a truly transparent and accountable manner, to promote public welfare,” a state government release said.

The panchayat elections were due in 2016. However, in view of the unrest that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani in July 2016, they were postponed. The previous panchayat elections in the state were held in 2011 after a 37-year hiatus.

On November 4, the governor had promulgated an ordinance empowering the state’s chief electoral officer to conduct the panchayat elections, The Indian Express reported.