Big decision of High Court regarding Gram Panchayat reorganization in Rajasthan, what did the order say?:

News Topical, Digital Desk : Rajasthan News: The Rajasthan High Court has directed the state government not to issue a notification on gram panchayat reorganization until the committee's report comes. A single bench of Justice Dinesh Mehta gave this direction on Friday while hearing more than 40 petitions challenging the proposed reorganization of gram panchayats.

The petitioners have claimed that the state government has grossly violated the guidelines issued on January 10, 2025 regarding the restructuring process.

What is the petitioner's claim?

The petitions have raised concerns about the alleged lack of transparency in the inclusion and exclusion of villages. They claim that many new panchayat headquarters are planned to be built in remote villages or villages with relatively low population. Moreover, some proposals involve locations where suitable land is not available to build panchayat bhawans.

It has been claimed that instead of giving priority to more developed and more populated villages, less developed areas with limited infrastructure are being designated as headquarters.

What did the government lawyer say?

Representing the state government, Advocate General Rajendra Prasad assured the court that the proposals are still in the preliminary stage. A three-member committee has been formed to review the submissions received from the district magistrates.

He stressed that the District Magistrates have been instructed to send the proposal to the state government only after thoroughly considering the objections raised by the local residents. After hearing the arguments, the court fixed the next hearing for July 7 and expressed confidence that the District Magistrate will evaluate all the objections fairly.

The court also ordered that the list of objections to all the petitions be submitted to the committee through the Advocate General's office. The committee is expected to decide on all proposals in accordance with the guidelines of January 10, 2025 and the observations of the court.