Uttarakhand Approves Rule Manual For Uniform Civil Code; Statewide Mock Drill Tomorrow As Officials' Training Nears Completion

The Uttarakhand cabinet led by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami approved the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) manual of rules on Monday (20 January).

It includes key provisions such as Tatkal registration, provision of door-to-door services in remote areas, and a state-wide mock drill scheduled for 21 January.

Sources indicate that the rules manual is likely to be revealed after the local body elections on Thursday due to the ongoing enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

The training for officials, which started last week, is also nearing its final phase. Upon its implementation, Uttarakhand will hold the distinction of being the first state to put the UCC into effect.

The UCC was announced by the Dhami government in 2022. The committee framed the draft and it was passed with the President’s assent. The dates for the implementation are likely to be announced soon.

Authorities have announced the development of online platforms for both citizens and officials. These platforms utilise Aadhaar-based authentication and AI-powered translation services in 22 Indian languages.

They feature data consolidation from over 13 departments or services, including birth-death registrations, district or high courts, and are cloud-based and come with disaster recovery systems.

"The government has set separate fees for expedited registration under the Tatkal service. The registration and termination process for live-in relationships has also been simplified," a government statement said.

The statement mentioned that comprehensive training programs are underway to ensure the successful execution of these provisions. The target is to train 10,000 village development officers (VDO) under the CSC scheme by 24 January.

"District-wise nodal officers have been appointed, and a helpline has been established to address portal-related queries. For legal queries, district-level prosecution department officers have been designated," it further said.

In addition to the online portal, the state government has empowered Common Service Centres (CSCs) to assist with digital registration with house-to-house services, guaranteeing accessibility to all citizens.

Sub-registrars in rural areas are now appointed as Village Panchayat Development Officers to ensure that registration services are readily accessible at a local level for rural residents.

The UCC portal provides login options for three different user groups - citizens, service centre employees, and officials. To sign up, users need to provide their Aadhaar information.

The portal provides a variety of services such as marriage, divorce, and live-in relationship registrations, termination of live-in relationships, intestate succession and identification of legal heirs, testamentary successions, appeals for rejected applications, access to pertinent information, and a platform for lodging complaints.

The Uniform Civil Code Bill 2024, was passed in the Assembly on 7 February 2024, following a report framed by a five-member expert panel led by retired judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. The Act was subsequently notified on 12 March 2024, after receiving the President's assent.

Despite the committee assigned to create the implementation rules for the UCC submitting its report to the government on 18 October, and the government's intentions to have the UCC operational before 9 November, the state's 24th Foundation Day, this was not realised due to the incomplete training of staff.