Himachal Pradesh News
State Election Commission Sets February 28 Deadline for PRI Poll Preparations in Himachal Pradesh
The State Election Commission (SEC) has fixed February 28 as the deadline to finalise the reservation roster, delimitation work and voter lists to ensure that elections to the panchayati raj institutions (PRI) are conducted before April 30, as directed by the High Court.
The State Election Commission (SEC) has fixed February 28 as the deadline to finalise the reservation roster, delimitation work and voter lists to ensure that elections to the panchayati raj institutions (PRI) are conducted before April 30, as directed by the High Court.
State Election Commissioner Anil Khachi held a meeting today with senior state government officials to review preparations for the PRI polls. The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary (Finance) Devesh Kumar, Special Secretary (Disaster) DC Ran and Director, Panchayati Raj Raghav Sharma. Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta and Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) KK Pant were unable to attend as they were in Delhi for official engagements.
Speaking after the meeting, Khachi said discussions had been held regarding the conduct of the elections and added that, from the Commission’s side, all necessary preparations were in place.
Sources said the SEC has directed the state government to finalise and notify the electoral rolls by February 28, so that remaining formalities for holding the panchayat elections can be completed without delay.
The High Court has mandated that the PRI elections be held before April 30. The matter was also informally discussed during the Cabinet meeting held here today.
The state government had earlier deferred the PRI polls citing the enforcement of the Disaster Management Act, as road connectivity in several parts of the state was yet to be fully restored. With the terms of the panchayat pradhans having expired, the government may appoint Administrators until elections are held and newly elected representatives assume office.
