Uttarakhand introduces Uniform Civil Code and unveils UCC portal

On Monday, the Uttarakhand government launched the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the UCC rules manual and an application portal at the CM’s camp office in Dehradun.

The Cabinet had approved the manual on January 20, and on January 13, the government began training officials to familiarize them with the new portal.

Officials mentioned that the online portals, designed for both citizens and officials, include Aadhaar-based verification, AI-driven translation services in 22 Indian languages.

Data integration across over 13 departments and services, such as birth-death registrations and district/high courts. These cloud-based portals are also equipped with disaster recovery systems.

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Uttarakhand to Provide Door-to-Door Services in Remote Areas for Online Registration

According to an official source, the government has introduced separate fees for expedited registration through the Tatkal service.

The process for registering and terminating live-in relationships has been streamlined. Termination requests from one partner will now require confirmation from the other.

Additionally, in testamentary succession, individuals can upload wills to the portal for online registration, modification, revalidation, or revival.

In addition to the portal, the state government has empowered Common Service Centres (CSCs) to assist with online registration.

In remote and hilly areas with limited internet access, CSC agents will offer door-to-door services to ensure citizens can access these facilities.

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Formation of Expert Panel for Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Report

The government established a five-member expert panel, led by retired judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, to prepare a comprehensive report for the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

Based on this report, the Uttarakhand Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code Bill, 2024, on February 7, 2024.

Then approved and notified as an official Act on March 12, 2024, after receiving assent from the President of India.

Following the passage of the Bill, the government formed a committee to create the detailed rules for the UCC’s implementation.

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Committee Submits Report on UCC Implementation Steps

This committee submitted its report to the government on October 18, 2023, outlining the necessary steps for putting the law into action.

Initially, the government had planned to implement the UCC by November 9, 2023, to coincide with the state’s 24th Foundation Day celebrations.

As a result, the state did not meet the planned timeline, despite its commitment to enforcing the new law.

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