The State Election Commission has notified elections to the Municipal Councils of Kangra, Nurpur, Dehra, Jawalamukhi and Nagrota Bagwan and Shahpur Nagar Panchayat but did not mention the three new civic bodies of Jawali. Intriguingly, the state government had announced a reservation roster for all 11 wards of the Jawali Municipal Council in March and now those who wanted to contest election were dismayed after getting information that election would not be held for the civic body. Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar represents Jawali in the Assembly.
Of the three civic bodies carved out by the state government, residents of only Nagrota Surian Nagar Panchayat are opposing the move. The government notification issued on December 20, 2024, to create Nagrota Surian Nagar Panchayat had sparked public protests. The residents of Nagrota Surian and its surrounding gram panchayats of Bassa, Katholi and Sughnara had constituted a sangharsh samiti. Under the banner of the samiti, former gram panchayat pradhan Sanjay Mahajan had challenged the notification in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, which disposed it of by directing the Urban Development Department to consider the objections of the petitioners by granting them a personal hearing before taking a decision.
Former Jawali MLA and BJP leader Arjun Singh has questioned the creation of the three civic bodies in the area. He alleges that the state government is depriving the residents of these civic bodies of their constitutional and democratic right to elect their representatives and gave the responsibility of running these civic bodies to the bureaucracy. He has appealed to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene in the matter and ensure elections to these civic bodies are also held next month.
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