Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], July 23 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has appealed to the people of the state to actively participate in the democratic process by voting in the three-tier Panchayat elections on Thursday, said a statement from CMO.
CM Dhami said that panchayats are the foundation of rural development and the participation of every voter in these elections is very important.
The Chief Minister added, "The strength of democracy depends on the awareness and participation of the voter. Development schemes are conducted in rural areas through the three-tier Panchayat system."
The Chief Minister has appealed to the voters of the state, especially the youth, women and senior citizens, to strengthen democracy by reaching the polling stations in maximum numbers. He said that every vote of every voter can play a decisive role in shaping the future of the state, according to the statement.
The State Election Commission in Uttarakhand had issued a notification regarding the conduct of panchayat elections in 12 districts of the state, except Haridwar. According to the notification, the three-tier panchayat elections will be held in two phases in the state.
The notification signed by Sushil Kumar, Uttarakhand State Election Commissioner, comes after the Nainital High Court on Friday permitted the continuation of the panchayat election process, lifting its earlier stay order issued on June 23.
Voting under the first phase will take place on July 24, and voting under the second phase will take place on July 28. The counting of votes will be done on July 31.
Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand CM Dhami expressed happiness over the payment of Rs 1,600 crore as the state's pension share to Uttarakhand by the Uttar Pradesh government for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 and thanked the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, said a statement from CMO.
The Chief Minister has stated that, due to improved coordination and ongoing dialogue between the two states, pending issues regarding assets and liabilities are being resolved expeditiously.
It is noteworthy that for the apportionment of expenditure on pension in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Accountant General, Uttar Pradesh, had estimated a liability of Rs 952.26 crore for the year 2021-22 and Rs 1,309 crore for the period 2022-23 on the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
In relation to the total liability of Rs 2,261.26 crores calculated for the said two financial years for pension expenditure, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued an order to transfer the amount of Rs 1,600 crores to the Uttarakhand government through an inter-state adjustment with the Reserve Bank of India in July 2025.