Karnal MC panel approves draft for ward delimitation

Parveen Arora

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Karnal, February 10

As the tenure of the outgoing General House of the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) concluded on January 4, the civic authorities have geared up for the next elections. They have completed the process of delimitation of wards. The ad hoc committee, led by Deputy Commissioner Anish Yadav, has approved the draft, which will now be sent to the government.

Number of wards unchanged

• As per the Parivar Pehchan Patra data, the city’s population is around 3.95 lakh
• As it is under 4 lakh, the number of wards will remain the same at 20, but the internal boundaries of various wards have been changed
• Several aspirants for councillor posts said they had put in a lot of efforts for the betterment of their ward areas over the past five years. They expressed concern that even minor adjustments could significantly impact their electoral prospects

A range of votes spanning from 15,000 to 23,000 for each of the 20 wards has been allocated. The delimitation has been done based on the population as per the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP).

As per the PPP data, the total population of the city is around 3.95 lakh. Since it is under 4 lakh, the number of wards will remain the same at 20, but the internal boundaries of various wards have been changed, triggering fear among aspirants eyeing to contest councillor elections. Some of them are planning to change their wards.

However, during the delimitation process, several aspirants for councillor posts have lobbied, seeking the support of their political patrons or directly approaching DC Yadav, Commissioner, KMC, Abhishek Meena and outgoing Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, urging them not to make major changes to the boundaries of their wards. They said they had put in a lot of efforts for the betterment of their wards over the past five years, expressing concern that even minor adjustments could significantly impact their electoral prospects.

“I have done a lot of work in my ward, but I came to know that major changes have been made. So, I have requested the authorities not to make major changes in my ward as it will spoil my prospects,” said an aspirant for the post of councillor.

Another aspirant for the post said that he would challenge the move if major changes are made. Sources said some changes had been made in almost all wards, but major changes were in ward numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 13, 14, 16, and 20, owing to a high number of voters.

Abhishek Meena, Commissioner, KMC, stated that they had completed the delimitation of wards. “We will consider objections from people after the publishing of draft of the delimitation of wards,” he said.

Anish Yadav, DC, said, “We have used data from the PPP, and based on it, the delimitation of wards is being done. It will now be sent to the government for approval.”