Almora: Several public issues dominated the Hawalbagh Kshetra Panchayat meeting, where elected representatives strongly questioned departmental officials over the lack of action on problems raised in previous meetings. Drinking water supply, electricity, roads, ration cards and rural development remained the key concerns during the session.
Before the meeting began, Project Director K.N. Tiwari informed the house about the Solid Waste Management Rules-2026, which came into effect from April 1. He said gram panchayats would play a major role in waste segregation, scientific disposal and implementation of penalty provisions under the new rules. Information regarding the Election Commission’s SIR process was also shared, and representatives were asked to support BLOs to ensure that no eligible voter is left out of the electoral rolls.
The drinking water crisis emerged as the most serious issue during the meeting. Village heads from Taladbadi, Devalikhan and Bhanargaon highlighted acute water shortages in their areas. The Devalikhan village head warned that she would resign if the water supply system was not improved soon. Complaints were also raised from Golna Karadiya and Syura regarding drinking water schemes that have failed to take shape on the ground. Questions were also raised over the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
Representatives objected to the Agriculture Department’s online distribution system for agricultural toolkits, saying many rural farmers are unable to access benefits due to poor internet connectivity and lack of technical knowledge. Issues related to deletion of names from ration cards and failure to add new units were also raised before the Food Supply Department.
The functioning of the Electricity Department also came under criticism. Atharbani village head demanded the construction of a protective wall around transformers and removal of power lines passing over residential houses. However, the Executive Engineer cited government regulations and expressed inability to resolve the issue immediately, leading to protests from several representatives.
Syura village head Pramod Joshi raised the issue of blacktopping the Dhotigad motor road. Several representatives also complained about improper debris disposal during road construction, damage to pipelines and destruction of pedestrian routes due to PMGSY road works.
The Panchayati Raj Department was also criticised for deducting contingency funds from the grants allocated to village heads. Representatives said the proposal to stop such deductions had already been passed in a previous meeting, yet the department was continuing the process.
At the end of the meeting, members paid tribute to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister B. C. Khanduri and observed a two-minute silence.
The meeting was attended by District Panchayat members Mahesh Nayal and Kundan Ram, Project Director K.N. Tiwari, Tehsildar Ravi Shah, BDO S.S. Dariyal, ABDO Ramesh Kanwal, Janaki Nayal, Devendra Singh Nayal, Vinod Joshi, Sundar Matiyani and several gram pradhans, officials and employees.
