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Tatkal registration, door-to-door services in remote areas, and a state-wide mock drill on January 21 – these are some of the key provisions in Uttarakhand’s Uniform Civil Code manual of rules, which the state’s Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet approved Monday. The move has drawn criticism from the Opposition Congress, which calls it a violation of the Model Code of Conduct in place ahead of local body polls.
According to sources, the rules manual, which was approved by the Cabinet meeting convened for the purpose Monday, is expected to be announced after the election Thursday. The training of the officials is also in the final stages.
Once these are rolled out, Uttarakhand will become the first state to implement the UCC.
Leaving the State Secretariat after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said: “We had announced in 2022 that our first work will be UCC after the government is formed. The committee framed the draft and it was passed with the President’s assent. The training is in the final stages and we will soon announce the dates for the implementation… We have discussed the rules today”.
On January 13, Uttarakhand government began training its officials to help familiarise them with the UCC portal.
Officials said online portals have been developed for citizens and officials, featuring Aadhaar-based verification, AI-based translation services in 22 Indian languages, and data integration across more than 13 departments/services (e.g., birth-death registrations, district/high courts, etc). These portals are cloud-based and equipped with disaster recovery systems.
An official source said: “The government has set separate fees for expedited registration under the Tatkal service. The registration and termination process for live-in relationships has also been simplified. Termination applications by one partner will require confirmation from the other partner. In testamentary succession, wills can be uploaded on the portal for online registration, modification, revalidation, or revival”.
Extensive training programs are being conducted for the effective implementation of these provisions, the source said.
“A state-wide mock drill is scheduled for January 21. Additionally, the target is to train 10,000 village development officers (VDO) under the CSC scheme by January 24, 2025. District-wise nodal officers have been appointed, and a helpline has been established to address portal-related queries. For legal queries, district-level prosecution department officers have been designated,” the source further said.
Apart from the portal, the state government has authorised Common Service Centres (CSCs) to facilitate online registration. In remote and mountainous areas where internet access is limited, CSC agents will provide door-to-door services to ensure that citizens can avail of these facilities.
In rural areas, Village Panchayat Development Officers have been appointed as sub-registrars to provide registration services at the local level, ensuring easier access for rural citizens.
The UCC portal has options for three stakeholders to log in – the citizens, service centre staff, and officials. Aadhaar details are required for signing up.
The list of services the portal offers includes registration of marriage, divorce, and live-in registrations, termination of live-in relationships, intestate succession and declaration of legal heirs, testamentary successions, appeal in cases where application is rejected, access to information, and complaint registration.
A five-member expert panel was formed to frame a report, led by retired judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, and based on this, the Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2024, was passed in the Assembly on February 7, 2024. The Act was notified on March 12, 2024, after assent from the President. Though the committee formed to draw up rules for implementing UCC submitted its report to the government on October 18 and the government planned to have the UCC in place before November 9, the state’s 24th Foundation Day, this could not happen as the training of staff was not yet complete.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Congress Monday wrote to the state Election Commission seeking action against the BJP for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct by approving the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) rules in a Cabinet meeting.
In a letter to the body, the Congress said despite having the MCC in effect, the BJP government convened a Cabinet meeting and approved the rules for the UCC.
“The ruling party is employing various tactics to influence voters and blatantly disregarding the Model Code of Conduct enforced in the state. In this regard, today, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, violating the Model Code of Conduct, held a cabinet meeting in Dehradun and approved the regulations for the UCC,” the letter said.
The letter condemned it as an “unconstitutional move by the state government” and demanded that the Election Commission take immediate action to stop the violations.
It further said: “The Congress Party considers this a direct violation of the Model Code of Conduct and demands that such actions by the government be immediately halted and that they be directed to adhere to the Code… Pushkar Singh Dhami government convened a cabinet meeting, approved the regulations for the Uniform Civil Code, and publicised it widely in direct violation of the principles of the Model Code of Conduct in a democracy”.
