States » NorthPosted at: Oct 1 2026 7:10PM


Haryana overhauls Gram Sabha quorum rules

Panchkula, Oct 1(UNI) Haryana has overhauled quorum rules for Gram Sabha meetings, sharply reducing the attendance required for meetings dealing with beneficiaries of government schemes and village development plans and providing a graded mechanism for reconvening meetings when the prescribed quorum is not met.
The changes have been brought about through the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2026, notified by the Law and Legislative Department on October 1. The Act received the Governor's assent on September 24 and has been published as Haryana Act No. 34 of 2026.
The amendment substitutes sub-section (7A) of Section 11 of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994.
Under the amended provision, the quorum for a general meeting of a Gram Sabha will be one-tenth of its total membership or 300 members, whichever is less.
However, the law lays down a separate attendance requirement for meetings convened to consider and approve identified eligible beneficiaries of any government scheme or prepare a Gram Panchayat Development Plan.
Such a meeting will initially require 20 per cent of the total Gram Sabha membership to constitute a quorum.
The amended law also provides a clear procedure if sufficient members do not turn up.
If the required quorum is not available at the scheduled time, the Sarpanch will have to wait for one hour. If the quorum is still not complete, the meeting will be adjourned to the same time on the following day or to another day decided by the Sarpanch.
Importantly, only the business originally scheduled can be taken up at the adjourned meeting.
At the first adjourned meeting, the quorum requirement will come down to 15 per cent of the total Gram Sabha membership.
If the 15 per cent threshold is not achieved either, the meeting will be adjourned again. For the next meeting, the law prescribes fixed numbers rather than a percentage of the total membership.
A Gram Sabha with 10,000 or more members will require 500 members to constitute the quorum. Where the membership is more than 5,000 but below 10,000, at least 400 members will be required.
For a Gram Sabha with 5,000 or fewer members, 300 members will constitute the quorum.
The new framework is significant for village-level decision-making because the special quorum provisions directly govern meetings in which beneficiaries of government schemes are considered and approved and Gram Panchayat Development Plans are prepared.
By introducing progressively lower attendance requirements after failure to achieve the initial quorum, the amended law provides a statutory route for such meetings to proceed while retaining a prescribed minimum level of participation.
The notification has been issued by Ritu Garg, Administrative Secretary, Law and Legislative Department.
UNI KK RSA
Tags: #Haryana overhauls Gram Sabha quorum rules
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