india

Updated: Jun 27, 2019 07:23 IST

The Uttarakhand assembly on Wednesday passed a bill barring people with more than two children from contesting Panchayat, or village council, elections in the state. The bill also stipulates minimum educational qualifications for Panchayat poll contestants.

General category men would now need to have passed the class 10 examination to contest the village council elections. People from the scheduled castes and tribes and women can contest the polls if they have cleared their class 8 exam. The bill also prohibits a person from holding two posts in a local body.

The Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act 2016 (Amendment) Bill was passed with a voice vote on the last day of the state assembly session. The bill will now be sent to governor Baby Rani Maurya for her approval.

Panchayat elections are slated to be held in the state by end of this year.

State parliamentary affairs minister, Madan Kaushik, said the amendments will encourage family planning. Congress, however, opposed the bill with its leader Suryakant Dhasmana saying, “If this law is enforced in forthcoming panchayat polls, we would not be left with many candidates.”