Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN, 3 Jan: Taking a firm stance on reports of irregularities in the Family Register across the state, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami chaired a high-level meeting here on Saturday and directed a comprehensive, impartial, and time-bound investigation to be carried out at the state level in this respect. During the meeting, he emphasised that strict action would be taken against those found guilty of manipulating records.
The Chief Minister also instructed that copies of all Family/Kutumb Registers in every district be immediately secured under the custody of the respective District Magistrates to prevent any tampering. It was further decided that a detailed scrutiny of these registers would be undertaken at the level of the Chief Development Officer (CDO) or Additional District Magistrate (ADM).
The scope of the investigation will extend from 2003 to the present, with the objective of identifying irregularities committed in the previous years. Departmental and legal proceedings will be initiated against people who have managed to register names using forged documents. Dhami also clarified that the registration and issuance of copies of the Family Register are governed by the Panchayati Raj (Maintenance of Family Registers) Rules, 1970, which mandate that every family residing in rural areas must be recorded in the Family/Kutumb Register. While the rules already provide for rectification of entries and addition of new names, the government intends to make these processes more rigorous and transparent.
Dhami reminded that the authority to enter names into the Family Register lies with the Assistant Development Officer (Panchayat), while the appeals are heard by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Services related to the Family Register are also being provided through the Apuni Sarkar portal.
In addition, concerns were raised during the meeting about the demographic imbalance caused by unauthorised settlements, particularly in rural areas of plains districts bordering the state, where names have been entered into the Family Register without the due proper authorisation. In light of these issues, the government has felt the need to introduce amendments to the rules governing the Family Register.
The data presented by the Panchayati Raj Department revealed that between April 1 and December 31 2025, a total of 2,66,294 applications were received for the addition of new families, of which 2,60,337 were approved and 5,429 were rejected due to violations of rules or incomplete documentation. Experts have suggested that the rejected applications point towards possible fraudulent entries, prompting the government to strengthen the process further.
During the meeting, the CM further directed that investigations be conducted uniformly across all the districts, particularly in border regions, to ensure fairness and consistency. It was also resolved that in future, the process of entering names in the Family Register would be regulated under a clear policy to be placed before the Cabinet. Dhami asserted that tampering with government records would not be tolerated under any circumstances and that strict action against offenders would be ensured.
Among those present on the occasion included Home Secretary Shailesh Bagoli, DGP Deepam Seth, DGP Intelligence Abhinav Kumar, Special Secretary Panchayati Raj Parag Dhakate and Director Panchayati Raj, Nidhi Yadav.
