Yogi Adityanath annuls Akhilesh regime's quota formula in Panchayats

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath government has annulled the 2015 reservation order of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, which rendered null and void the prevailing rotational seat reservation in rural local bodies.

The decision was approved by the state cabinet on Tuesday evening.

According to the government spokesman, the then Samajwadi Party government had introduced the 10th amendment in the Panchayati Raj Rule to set aside reservation in seats. It had also conducted delimitation of the Gram Panchayats, Kshetra and Zila Panchayats in 71 districts, leaving four districts -- Gonda, Moradabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Sambhal -- out of the purview.

The Yogi cabinet has now mandated reservation of seats on a rotational basis which was in practice before 2015. The state cabinet has thus set the stage for a fresh rollout in the seat reservation.

The cabinet also approved delimitation of four districts which were left untouched in 2015. "The state government decided to restore reservation in seats as rotational quota is a continuous process and cannot be set aside," the official said.

The order issued by the Panchayati Raj department notified reservation in all 75 districts.

Now, the state government would be seeking objections from respective districts before the quota rollout. The process, sources said, would take at least one month time.