U'khand HC quashes notifications on delimitation

In a setback to the state government, the Uttarakhand High Court has quashed all notifications regarding fresh delimitation of municipal bodies in the state to bring more areas under their purview.

The single bench of Justice Sudhansu Dhulia declared the notifications issued by the state government regarding delimitation of municipal bodies as "unconstitutional" and said they were not executed through the governor.

The Uttarakhand government had expanded the limits of municipal bodies in November last year through the state Urban Development Department to bring a large number of villages under their ambit.

The high court order renders the entire government exercise towards delimitation infructuous.

There is another petition pending in the high court seeking timely elections to civic bodies in the state for which the deadline expired on May 4.

Welcoming the court order on delimitation, Uttarakhand Congress president Pritam Singh said it vindicates the party's stand on the issue, which opposed the exercise.

The state government had carried out the delimitation exercise in a high-handed manner without conducting public hearings and taking people's representatives into confidence, he alleged.