Virendra Gahwai, Bilaspur. The High Court has accepted the petition filed against the formation of Gram Panchayat Barela as a Nagar Panchayat. The court has dissolved the special committee formed for the functioning of Nagar Panchayat Barela. After hearing the case, the court has directed that the current Panchayat officials will continue to work until the newly elected Nagar Panchayat is formed. The case was heard in the single bench of Justice Parth Pratim Sahu.
The Chhattisgarh Government’s Urban Administration and Development Department, using the powers of Section 5 of the Municipality Act 1961, constituted Gram Panchayat Barela as a Nagar Panchayat through a notification published in the Gazette in 2023 and also notified a special committee for the functioning of the newly constituted Nagar Panchayat. In this, people of the ruling party were included in place of the elected Panchayat representatives, while the tenure of the previously elected public representatives is till February 2025.
Regarding this, Panchayat representatives Krishna Kumar Yadav, Kritika Dhuri Vasudev Patel and others challenged it in the High Court. It was said that the CMO was appointed as per Section 5 Municipality Act 1961, in this Act there is a provision that till the new council is duly constituted, the already elected representatives will continue to work. During the hearing of the case, the court said that on 27 June 2024, the government has issued a notification going against the Act. The court, while cancelling the special committee, issued instructions to the current Panchayat officials to continue working till the formation of the newly elected Nagar Panchayat.