Shimla, Sept. 3 -- The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Thursday passed the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Bill, 2026 amid opposition protests, expanding the definition of an encroacher's family to include the daughter-in-law for determining eligibility to contest Panchayat elections.
Under the amended provisions, a person who has encroached upon government, municipal, Panchayat, cooperative society or village common land, as well as family members benefiting from such encroachment, will be disqualified from being elected as a Panchayat member or holding a Panchayat office.
The definition of family under the amendment includes grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, husband or wife, son, unmarried daughter and daughter-i...