Overview

• Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta, as SDMA chair, issued an order under Section 24(e) of the Disaster Management Act deferring the Panchayati Raj elections until connectivity is repaired.
• The State Election Commission said it has received the order and will assess it before setting dates for polls across 3,577 panchayats.
• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the elections are deferred, not cancelled, and signaled relief for disaster-hit residents as the immediate priority.
• Official data record 47 cloudbursts, 98 flash floods, 148 major landslides and 270 rain-related deaths, with the December–January snowfall period adding further access risks.
• The decision followed requests from deputy commissioners in Mandi, Kangra, Hamirpur and Shimla, even as BJP leaders alleged the move was pre-planned and politically motivated.