Admn mulls delimitation of wards, civic polls to be delayed

Jammu, November 5

The administration is contemplating a delimitation exercise for municipal wards and panchayat segments, which is likely to cause delay in the urban local body and panchayat elections.

Transfer of civic poll mandate to State election body sought

• The chief electoral officer holds urban local body elections in addition to Lok Sabha and Assembly polls while the State Election Commission is mandated to hold panchayat polls.
• The Congress had recently sought transfer of the mandate to hold urbal local body polls to the State Election Commission as mandated by the 74th constitutional amendment.

The Housing and Urban Development Department actively seeks recommendation from the chief electoral officer’s (CEO) office to transfer the mandate for municipal electoral processes to the State Election Commission (SEC) in line with constitutional provisions.

In J&K, the CEO oversees ULB elections, while the SEC, led by a state election commissioner, conducts elections for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).

On September 23, Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee president Vikar Rasool Wani urged Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to hold the urban local body elections under the SEC, aligning with the 74th amendment of the Constitution. A letter from the CEO’s office also endorsed shifting the mandate for municipal electoral processes to the SEC.

The terms of most municipalities, including the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), are ending this month, with panchayat terms expiring on January 9 next year.

The CEO’s office highlighted the necessity for a fresh delimitation exercise due to substantial disparities in the electoral base among wards within municipal corporations. Officials also indicate that the rural development department is considering rationalising electorates in panchayat segments.

The All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC) has been demanding delimitation of halqa panchayats to ensure a level playing field for elections. The CEO’s office also mentioned suggestions and objections related to the publication of updated electoral rolls and draft reservation of seats in all municipal bodies for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and women, as per extant rules.

Out of the 75 wards in the JMC, 25 are reserved for women, 10 for scheduled castes and two for scheduled tribes. Similarly, in the 75 wards of the SMC, 25 wards are reserved for women.

The last local body elections were organised between October and December 2018 after a long delay.

The CEO’s office, in its letter, also referred to various petitioners who have objected to the large-scale difference in the electoral base of each seat of the two municipal corporations and demanded a fresh delimitation of all bodies.

“…there is a large difference in the elector bases of different wards wherein there are wards with elector bases in the range of 2,000 to 3,000 on one side and 12,000 to 15,000 on the other extreme. Similar variance is there in most of the municipal councils and committees also. This skew in the representation strength of each ward can be addressed by a fresh delimitation exercise,” the letter said. (With PTI inputs)