Himachal: 39 New Panchayats Formed, Elections Likely in Three Phases
In Himachal Pradesh, the process of forming 39 out of 40 new panchayats has been completed. On Friday, the Panchayati Raj Department issued the official notification. One panchayat in Mandi district is yet to be finalized due to pending demarcation and will be completed after re-survey. The boundaries of these new panchayats are expected to be finalized within a week.
With the creation of these 39 new panchayats, the total number of panchayats in the state has increased to 3,616 from the previous 3,577. Although more applications for new panchayats are pending, no additional formations are planned for now. As per Supreme Court orders, the state government must conduct elections before May 31.
Elections for panchayats, panchayat samitis, and zila parishads may be held in three separate phases. About 35,000 staff will be deployed for election duty, and around 22,000 polling stations will be set up across the state. The State Election Commission is holding continuous meetings with officials and will soon issue detailed guidelines to the election officers.
Training programs will also be conducted for polling personnel, covering nomination procedures, polling hours, counting arrangements, and health precautions. Sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations are being identified in advance.
Panchayati Raj Minister Aniruddh Singh stated that the notification for the formation of new panchayats in Himachal Pradesh has been issued and elections will be conducted on schedule.
3 Comments