In a landmark step towards empowering people at the grassroots level, the Jammu and Kashmir Government has decided to amend its Panchayati Raj Act of 1989 and bring it on a par with the provisions of the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution, which is not applicable to the State under Article 370. This was announced by the Deputy Chief Minister, Mangat Ram Sharma, on the last day of the two-day convention on 'Panchayati Raj in Jammu and Kashmir', organised by the Institute of Jammu and Kashmir Affairs, Jammu, and the Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi. The 73rd Amendment refers to the empowerment of panchayats and was passed in 1989 at the initiative of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.