Pathankot villagers oppose delimitation of wards

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, December 17

The delimitation process initiated by the Local Bodies Department to demarcate wards ahead of the local body elections has run into rough weather.

As many as 24 residents, a majority of them belonging to villages that will be forming a part of the Pathankot Municipal Corporation after the delimitation process is complete, have filed objections with Amit Mahajan, Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Pathankot. They have objected to the “faulty” modus operandi adopted by the department in re-carving the municipal wards.

Mahajan said the objections had been sent to the state government and a final call would be taken by the Local Bodies Department. Earlier, there were 33 wards. The number will be increased to 50 after the delimitation process. It is mandatory for a corporation to have a minimum of 50 wards.

The delimitation of wards has also acquired the contours of a political controversy with the Pathankot District Congress Committee (PDCC) filing objections. Anil Vij, president of the PDCC, confirmed that he along with former minister Raman Bhalla and former MLA Ashok Sharma had met the MC Joint Commissioner. “The delimitation process is faulty. Factors such as population and area of the town have not been taken into consideration. There are some villages located on the outskirts of the city that do not want to be a part of the corporation. We have met the Joint Commissioner in this regard and have also sent our objections to the Election Commission of India. If the delimitation process is not completed in accordance with the norms, we will be left with no option but to move a petition in court,” said Vij.

The Congress has also objected to the inclusion of a BJP mandal president Anil Rampal in the delimitation committee. “The Congress, which held the post of the president of the Municipal Committee before it was upgraded, has been ignored. None of our party leaders have been included in the committee and it is a violation of norms,” said Vij.