Hearing on petitions regarding the delimitation of urban local bodies to absorb rural areas into the UlBs, the Uttarakhand High Court has directed that the status quo be maintained. The high court has sought a reply from the State Government on the issue by March 6 when the case is set to be taken up for hearing next in the court.
It should be mentioned here that the State Government had recently issued notifications for expansion of UlBs entailing merger of Gram Sabhas in the UlBs. The notification was challenged by about 11 parties including Bhawali Gram Pradhan Sanjay Joshi, Sangharsh Samiti Against Notification of Nagar Nigam Kotdwar and Shaktishail Kaparwan, Haldwani block Pramukh Bhola Datt Bhatt and Rasoolpur Pradhan Dipika among others. The petitioners have stated that the State Government issued notification merging various rural areas into the municipal corporations and municipalities without providing the stakeholders an opportunity for hearing. The residents of such villages are majorly dependent on agriculture and live in areas where the Gram Panchayat tenure has not yet ended. The Panchayat representatives alleged that they were being removed from their elected positions before the end of their tenure by the state government’s decision.
According to sources, the petitioners have further alleged that the notification issued by the State Government is aimed at facilitating large scale deals of Gram Sabha lands. Hearing the petition, the single bench of the high court comprising justice Sudhanshu Dhulia directed that the status quo be maintained for now.