Haryana become the second state after Rajasthan to fix educational and other qualifications for the candidates contesting panchayat elections. The state Assembly on Monday passed a bill, fixing the minimum educational qualification for elections to the Panchayati Raj institutions besides laying down other conditions including making it mandatory for the candidates to have functional toilets.

On the concluding day of monsoon session, it passed the Haryana panchayati raj (amendment) bill, 2015 after debating it for over an hour, amid a walkout by the Congress while main opposition INLD also raised concern on some points concerning the amendment.

The bill fixes, matriculation as essential qualification for general candidates contesting the panchayat elections while the qualification for the women (general) and scheduled caste candidate will be middle standard (VIII).

An exception has been made in the case of women candidates. They contest for the post of panch with a minimum qualification of std V pass.

Earlier, the state had promulgated an ordinance fixing educational qualification and other criteria for elections to PRIs, which was recently withdrawn and the bill now brought in its place.

Moving the bill, agriculture minister O P Dhankar termed the legislation as "historic", saying it was as important as the cow protection act enacted by the assembly in its session earlier this year.

As per an amendment in Clause (v) of Section 175 of the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, the minimum academic qualification for all levels of elected representatives of PRIs including panches, sarpanches, block samiti, zila parishad members has been fixed now.