Friday, 19 JULY 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Panchayati Raj minister Satpal Maharaj has instructed chief secretary Radha Raturi to implement recommendations for one nation, one election during the upcoming Panchayat election in Uttarakhand. He has also directed her to check the scope for extending the tenure of the Panchayats considering the two years affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Providing the information, Maharaj said that he has recently issued written directives to Raturi, following the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the implementation of one nation, one election. He added that except for Haridwar district, the three-tier Panchayat elections for the remaining 12 districts in Uttarakhand are scheduled for 2024-25. Due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the development work and Panchayat meetings were stalled for two years during the previous tenure of the three-tier Panchayat system. He said that these two years affected by the pandemic should not be considered as part of the regular functioning of the Panchayats. Apart from this, during this period, the holding of Panchayat meetings had been impossible, he said.
The minister further added that considering this, these two years of the pandemic should not be considered as part of the five-year Panchayat tenure. It is recommended that in consideration of the sentiments of the public representatives, the three-tier Panchayat elections scheduled for 2024-25 should be postponed to 2027, aligning it with Haridwar district elections. Maharaj said that he also informed the CS about the actions taken in Jharkhand and Rajasthan regarding Panchayat tenures during the Covid period. He told the CS to gather information from these States, thoroughly analyse it and explore the feasibility of implementing similar measures in Uttarakhand.
