Dehradun:
Dehradun-based environmental action and advocacy group SDC Foundation has approached the High Court of Uttarakhand seeking an urgent postponement of the Panchayat elections scheduled for July 24 and 28, 2025. The appeal is grounded primarily in alarming data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), which shows that Uttarakhand is already experiencing an exceptionally intense and volatile monsoon that poses grave risks to public safety.
According to IMD Dehradun figures, the state received 240 mm of rainfall in June 2025 against a normal of 176 mm, marking a 36% surplus. Even more striking, the week from June 25 to July 2, 2025 recorded an average rainfall of 130.1 mm, almost double the normal of 66.2 mm for the period, reflecting a 96% departure from average. With July historically being Uttarakhand’s wettest month, averaging 417 mm of rain — nearly twice the June levels — these patterns signal a dramatically heightened likelihood of landslides, flash floods, slope failures and widespread disruption, especially in the fragile Himalayan terrain of Uttarakhand.
In its submission, SDC Foundation emphasized that this IMD data is not just statistical but translates directly into real and escalating dangers for people across the state. June has already witnessed severe consequences, with official records showing 65 fatalities from natural disasters and rain-related road accidents between June 1 and 28, 2025, a staggering 103% increase compared to the same period last year.
This includes tragic incidents such as the cloudburst in Uttarkashi on June 29 that led to a flash flood, killing two people and leaving seven missing, and the June 26 accident on the Badrinath highway near Gholtir village where a pilgrim vehicle plunged into the swollen Alaknanda, resulting in six confirmed deaths. On June 28 alone, more than 160 roads were reported closed due to rain-induced landslides and flooding, cutting off communities and severely hampering mobility.
Anoop Nautiyal of SDC Foundation who has consistently worked on climate risks, disaster governance and citizen-led environmental action in Uttarakhand, pointed out that holding Panchayat elections in such conditions will force lakhs of voters to travel, often on foot through landslide-prone tracks, while nearly one lakh government employees will be deployed on election duty across vulnerable areas. The frequent IMD red and yellow alerts urging citizens to stay indoors starkly contradict the logistical demands of conducting elections that involve large-scale movement and gatherings. The organisation underscored that this is not just about administrative inconvenience but about protecting human life and dignity.
In addition to the current IMD data and official state figures, SDC Foundation submitted its own detailed documentation under the Uttarakhand Disaster & Accident Analysis Initiative (UDAAI), which has tracked disasters and accidents in the state month-wise since October 2023. The UDAAI records for July 2023 and July 2024 clearly show how this period consistently brought devastating monsoon-related incidents, underscoring why pushing elections into this window in 2025 is fraught with life-threatening risks.
The appeal urges the Hon’ble High Court to direct the state government to defer the elections to the safer period of late September or October/November 2025 after the peak monsoon subsides, and to also seek an independent technical assessment from the IMD on the advisability of conducting polls under the prevailing climatic conditions.
Speaking on the matter, Anoop Nautiyal reiterated that this appeal, made by SDC Foundation, is purely humanitarian and rooted in a deep commitment to the people and ecology of Uttarakhand. He expressed hope that the High Court would place the safety and welfare of citizens above electoral timelines and ensure that governance does not come at the cost of human lives.
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