Panchayat polls to be rescheduled in Uttarakhand

Panchayat elections in Uttarakhand which were to be held in three phases from March eight will be rescheduled following a High Court order granting an extension of 10 days to the state government to notify the polls.
A meeting will be held with government officials tomorrow to decide fresh dates for the polls in the wake of the court's order, State Election Commissioner Subardhan told reporters here.
The High Court's order came yesterday on a petition filed by the state government seeking rescheduling of the Panchayat polls on the plea that its notification would impede the flow of fresh World Bank funds into the calamity-hit state with the enforcemnt of the model code of conduct.

The Panchayat elections were to be notified yesterday bringing into immediate effect the model code of conduct which imposes a temporary ban on populist announcements.
Polls to the Panchayat bodies were originally scheduled to held in three phases on March 8, 11 and 14.