Civic polls in Uttarakhand can be held within 30 to 35 days after May 27: State tells HC

The state election commission had in March this year moved high court seeking its intervention for holding the civic body elections at the earliest in the state as the terms of various local bodies was coming to an end on May 3

Updated on: May 24, 2018, 22:46:47 IST

Hindustan Times, Nainital | By Neeraj Santoshi

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The Uttarakhand government on Thursday informed the Nainital High Court that a final status report on reservation and delimitation of the local bodies will be handed to over to the state election commission by May 27, following which it can conduct the civic polls in the state in 30 to 35 days.

Dehradun Municipal Corporation. (HT File)

Following the assurance, the high court disposed of a petition filed by the state election commission seeking intervention for holding the civic body elections at the earliest in the state, Sanjay Bhat, the counsel representing the poll panel, said.

Bhat said the state government apprised the single bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia that on May 23, a meeting was held between urban administration minister and the senior officials of the state election commission. It was decided in the meeting that the state government will hand over details of the reservation and delimitation of the local bodies to the commission by May 27 and after which it can hold the local body elections within 30 to 35 days.

The state election commission had in March this year moved high court seeking its intervention for holding the civic body elections at the earliest in the state as the terms of various local bodies was coming to an end on May 3. In the same month, the court ordered the state government to again invite objections for the delimitation process and issue a fresh notification.

The single bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, hearing a bunch of petitions from villagers from over half a dozen districts of the state, had on May 14 quashed the notification for expansion of municipal bodies. On May 17, the state government challenged the order following which a division bench on May 22 set aside the May 14 order.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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