LUCKNOW: With the high court setting April 30 as the deadline for panchayat elections in Uttar Pradesh, the state cabinet on Tuesday annulled the 2015 reservation order of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, which rendered null and void the prevailing rotational seat reservation in rural local bodies.
Officials said, then Samajwadi Party government had introduced 10th amendment in Panchayati Raj Rule to set aside reservation in seats and Tuesday’s move by the Yogi Adityanath government sets the stage for fresh rollout in seat reservation.
The then Akhilesh Yadav government also conducted delimitation of gram panchayats, kshetra and zila panchayats in 71 districts, leaving four districts — Gonda, Moradabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Sambhal — out of the purview.
On Tuesday, the state cabinet chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath introduced UP Panchayati Raj Reservation and Allotment of Seats and Offices (11th amendment) Rule, 2021, by circulation, mandating reservation of seats on a rotational basis which was in vogue before 2015.
Delimitation of four districts approved
Also, it approved delimitation of four districts which were left untouched in 2015. “The state government decided to restore reservation in seats as rotational quota is a continuous process and cannot be set aside,” an official said. The order issued by Panchayati Raj department notified reservation in all 75 districts. Now, the state government would be seeking objections from respective districts before the quota rollout. The process, sources said, would take at least a month time.