For not observing the court orders, the high court has summoned the Urban Development secretary Shailesh Bagauli on February 24. The court has asked him why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for not acting on the orders of the court.
Roorkee resident Anant Singh Tomar had filed a petition in the high court stating that in 2017 the state government had announced and issued a notification for changing the status of Dhandera from Gram Panchayat to Nagar Panchayat.
However, the place has not been declared a Nagar Panchayat so far. In April 2019, the high court had directed that the village be accorded Nagar Panchayat status within two months. Despite this, the court orders were not acted upon. Considering this, Tomar filed a contempt petition in the high court. Hearing on the petition, the single bench of justice Sharad Kumar Sharma issued a notice summoning the urban development secretary. The counsel for the department stated that the procedure for changing the status to Nagar Panchayat had been started. However, the court maintained its strong view and ordered the secretary to appear in the court on February 24.