Shimla, May 7 -- The Himachal Pradesh government on Wednesday notified a landmark legislation that prohibits individuals involved in drug trafficking, specifically chitta (synthetic heroin) from contesting panchayat elections later this month. The move follows the assent of governor Kavinder Gupta to the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Amendment Act, 2026, which introduces stringent disqualification norms for grassroots representatives. Under the new law, any person facing trial where a court has framed charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, is barred from the electoral process. If an elected pradhan, up-pradhan, or ward member is charged with drug-related offences during their tenure, they will be required to vacate their seat immediately. The amendment is a central pillar of chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's anti-narcotics campaign, which has recently seen state-wide rallies and "chitta-virodh" walkathons. The chief minister has termed the drug problem as a threat to the state's social fabric, leading marches in Shimla and Dharamshala to mobilise the community. While the legislative push was successful under Gupta, his predecessor, Shiv Pratap Shukla, had previously expressed procedural nuances regarding the Bill. While Shukla was a vocal proponent of a drug-free Himachal-often calling for a mass movement and stronger enforcement-he had initially advised the Sukhu government to ensure the law was legally airtight to avoid potential constitutional challenges regarding the disqualification of candidates at the "charges-framed" stage rather than upon conviction. With those refinements addressed, the state is now deploying 1,000 "anti-chitta volunteers" to monitor rural blocks ahead of the three-phase panchayat polls scheduled for May 26, 28, and 30. Recent police data highlights the scale of the challenge; in the first four months of 2026 alone, Shimla police dismantled 19 international and interstate drug networks and arrested 27 major suppliers-the highest in five years and a nearly seven-fold increase compared to2024. These networks, operating from as far as Nepal and Uttar Pradesh, have been linked to supplying high-grade heroin and LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide). For the first time, the state is using the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT-NDPS) Act to financially target traffickers. This has resulted in the provisional attachment of properties worth over Rs.42 crore belonging to drug lords. Beyond drug offences, the amendment tightens the moral and administrative conduct required for public office. Any person convicted of an offence involving "moral turpitude" is disqualified for six years post-conviction. The Act targets land encroachment, debarring any individual whose family member-defined to include parents, spouse, and children-is found to have encroached on government, municipality, or cooperative land, unless six years have passed since the eviction. In Himachal Pradesh, the daughters-in-law of families found to have encroached on government land will now be barredfrom contesting Panchayat elections. A day before the nomination process begins, governor Kavinder Gupta approved the the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Ordinance 2026. The nomination process for elections across Himachal Pradesh's 3,758 panchayats is scheduled to be begin on May 7, 8, and 11. The elections will be held on May 26, 28 and 30. Earlier, Section 122 of the Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, defined "family" to include grandparents, parents, spouses, sons, daughters, and unmarried daughters; but , it did not explicitly mention the daughter-in-law. As a result, they remained eligible to contest elections. During the 2020 panchayat polls, the election commission had urged the government to amend the definition of "family" to include daughter-in-law of an encroaching families. However, change could not be implements due to the COVID-19 pandemic....