Plan to hold three-phase panchayat polls, Haryana govt tells HC

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana government on Tuesday submitted before the Punjab and Haryana high court that it intends to hold three-phase panchayat elections in the state. Gram panchayat polls will be held in the first phase, followed by elections to panchayat samitis and zila parishads.
Haryana government further informed the HC that since the situation is becoming normal and it is faced with the constitutional mandate of conducting elections within six months from the date of dissolution of panchayats as provided for in Article 243E of the Constitution and Section 3 of Haryana Panchayati Raj Act 1994, “the state government, in consultation with the state election commission, intends to commence the process of elections in accordance with the amended provisions of the Act.”
The state government has also sought permission from the high court for conducting the elections.
The matter had reached the HC in the wake of a petition filed by Parveen Chohan, a resident of Jatola village in Gurugram district, seeking directions for setting aside the Haryana Panchayati Raj (second amendment) Act 2020 notified on April 15, 2021, by the panchayat department of the state, for being illegal discriminatory and unconstitutional. Subsequently some more petitions were also filed on the issue.
As of now, there are 13 petitions pending with the high court challenging various provisions of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Amendment Act 2020.