The Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Department has ordered the dissolution of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in the Keylong subdivision of Lahaul and Spiti district, the Pangi subdivision of Chamba district, and the Zila Parishad of Lahaul and Spiti before the expiry of their tenure on October 17.

A notification under Section 120(4) of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, was issued by the Panchayati Raj Department on Wednesday. Since elections to all PRIs were held before May 30, two elected bodies were simultaneously in existence in these areas.

The tenure of the PRIs in Keylong, Pangi and the Lahaul and Spiti Zila Parishad was originally scheduled to end on October 17. However, as the election process in these areas was completed along with the rest of the state, two sets of PRI bodies came into existence.

The dissolved institutions include all Gram Panchayats and Panchayat Samitis in the Keylong and Pangi subdivisions, as well as the Zila Parishad of Lahaul and Spiti.

The notification cites the existence of a fresh democratic mandate, completion of elections to the successor Panchayati Raj Institutions, the absence of any governance vacuum, and the need to maintain uniformity in the tenure and electoral cycle of PRIs across the state as the reasons for the dissolution.