Panchayat pradhan sacked for encroaching forest land

The Kangra Deputy Commissioner (DC) has removed Roman Bhakkal from the post of pradhan, Sakri gram panchayat, Dehra development block, for encroaching upon forest land in Mahendru village, Haripur tehsil. Acting under Section 131(2) of the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, the DC declared the post vacant and directed Bhakkal to hand over all panchayat assets to the panchayat secretary. The up pradhan will now assume the responsibilities of the pradhan.

As per official sources, the tehsildar, Haripur, had submitted a report against Bhakkal and her family for encroaching on government land to the DC office on September 5 last year. Following this, a show cause notice was issued on November 6, 2024. Bhakkal denied the allegations, arguing that the case was still pending before the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dehra, and requested no action until its resolution. However, the DFO later issued an eviction order, directing the removal of encroachments within 30 days. The district panchayat officer received a copy of this order, leading to Bhakkal’s dismissal under the Panchayati Raj Act.

Notably, Bhakkal was recently appointed as the BJP’s Dehra mandal unit chief. Reacting to the decision, she stated that she would challenge the DC’s order in the high court.