House clears Bills to defer polls to urban local bodies by 2 years; BJP says unconstitutional

Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh took up the discussion on the Bills for passage, as PWD Minister Vikramaditya Singh, who had tabled the proposed legislations in the House Thursday, was not present in the Assembly.

The BJP members accused the Congress government of attempting to “run away from elections” in 22 newly constituted urban bodies, which include three municipal corporations (Hamirpur, Una and Baddi), two municipal councils (Naidun and Kunihar), and 17 nagar panchayats.

Vikramaditya had earlier said that the amendments aim to improve municipal services and ensure proper administration in new civic bodies that have been created to accommodate rapid urban expansion.

The Himachal Pradesh Municipal (Amendment) Bill, 2025 replaces the Himachal Pradesh Municipal (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which was promulgated on August 1, with some minor changes, he said, adding that Section 14 of the Municipal Act has been amended to provide that the first elections to the newly constituted civic bodies may be held within two years of its formation.

According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bills, immediate elections are not feasible because the newly created civic bodies lack essential infrastructure, including adequate personnel, office space, and financial resources.

It further says that municipalities shall continue for five years from their first meeting, unless dissolved earlier. Municipal Corporation Act’s Sec 4 and 5 have been amended to extend the period for elections from six months to two years, with government-appointed officers exercising powers if elections are delayed. Corporations too continue for a five-year term, with newly constituted Corporations completing the remainder of dissolved bodies’ terms.

In the House, the Opposition members alleged that the Congress government was deliberately delaying elections in existing urban local bodies on the pretext of introducing reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). They alleged that 26 gram panchayats have been merged into these urban bodies without consulting local residents and development works in these gram panchayats have come to a halt. The BJP MLAs also argued that the government lacked officers and infrastructure to manage even the existing corporations and councils, yet it had created new ones and was now avoiding elections.

Rejecting the Opposition’s charges, Minister Anirudh Singh cited examples of Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana, where elections to local bodies had also been delayed beyond stipulated timelines. He argued that the creation of new urban bodies was “the need of the hour” to address rapid urbanisation and rising aspirations of villagers. “In Himachal Pradesh, several new municipal corporations and municipalities have recently been set up to accommodate urban expansion and improve services. It is not feasible to conduct immediate elections because these bodies currently lack essential infrastructure such as personnel, office space and financial resources,” he said. “Hence, it has been proposed that the first elections in such bodies may be held within two years of their constitution. We are not saying after the two years but within two years”.

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur rejected the justification. “These amendments are against the spirit of the Constitution and will not stand in a court of law. Why should this House make a mockery of itself? When the Urban Bodies Act clearly mandates elections six months before the expiry of a body’s five-year tenure, why does the government want to defer them for two years,” Thakur asked.

BJP MLA Trilok Jamwal said the Bills violated Article 326 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to vote. Randhir Sharma (Shri Naina Devi Ji) added, “Development works in merged gram panchayats have completely stalled. The government first created new bodies without consulting locals, and now it is avoiding elections.”

Anirudh Singh, however, said that new civic bodies were created after after consultations with stakeholders

The Himachal Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on November 17, 2024, had approved the creation of municipal corporations in Hamirpur, Una and Baddi. It had also approved to upgrade Naidun and Kunihar as municipal councils and the formation of six new nagar panchayats — Sandhol, Dharampur, Barsar, Bhoranj, Bangana and Kunihar.

In July 2025, the Cabinet decided to introduce OBC reservations in urban local bodies for the upcoming elections.

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