U’khand guidelines for rural polls

The Uttarakhand Assembly passed a bill barring people having more than two children from contesting the panchayat elections. It has also fixed a minimum qualification for them.

The Uttarakhand Panchayat Raj Act 2016 (Amendment) Bill, which was tabled on Tuesday, was passed by a voice vote amid acrimonious scenes by opposition members.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Kaushik said the purpose of the bill was to promote family planning and also determine a minimum educational qualification for the candidates.

“We have fixed the educational qualification of all panchayat members. In the general category, the minimum qualification is Class 10.

In the SC/ST categories, the minimum qualification is Class 8 for men and Class 5 for women,” he said.

The bill also prohibits holding of two offices simultaneously by any panchayat member.

Panchayats are the third and grassroot tier of India’s three-tier system of representative democracy.