The tenure of municipal bodies in Uttarakhand is going to end on December 2. Along with this, there has been a stir regarding the civic elections. Political parties have also started exercising, but the way the preparations are, it does not seem that the elections will be held till then. Till now the Urban Development Department has been able to finalize only the delimitation of the bodies. Neither the OBC (Other Backward Class) survey has been completed nor the revision of voter lists. It is certain to take at least three months to prepare the voter list. In such a situation, if elections are not held on time, the bodies can be handed over to administrators for six months.
Municipal elections were held in the year 2018
According to sources, brainstorming has started at the higher level regarding this also. The last civic elections in the state were held in the year 2018. Then the nomination process started from 20th October. After voting took place on 18 November, the results were declared on 20 November. The swearing-in and first meeting of the bodies took place on December 2. According to the Body Act, the five-year tenure of the body starts from the first meeting itself. There is also a provision in the Act that elections can be held 15 days before or 15 days after the end of the term. Now that the tenure of the civic bodies is nearing its end, the exercise has been started regarding their elections, but due to its slow pace, some buts and buts are also being raised.
Elections are to be held in total 97 bodies
According to the information received from the Urban Development Department, at present the number of municipal bodies in the state has increased to 110. Of these, seven bodies have been notified some time ago. In such a situation, it is not possible to conduct their elections along with other bodies. Of the remaining 103 civic bodies, elections are not held in Kedarnath, Badrinath and Gangotri, while in Roorkee and Bajpur their tenure is to be completed next year due to the elections being held later. Apart from this, a stay order has been received from the court regarding the formation of Siraurikala body. That means elections are to be held in a total of 97 bodies. Meanwhile, the government has proposed a timetable of 75 days for elections, but given the circumstances, it is difficult to hold elections during this period. After completion of delimitation and reservation as per the fixed system, the government sends its information to the State Election Commission. The Commission then begins the exercise of revising the voter lists. After the reservation is decided, objections are sought in this regard. At least one week’s time is given for this.
In view of the actual number of OBCs in the civic bodies, a single dedicated commission has been constituted. He has submitted the reports of some bodies to the government. Reservation will be decided only after this work is completed. Although the reservation exercise can be completed on time, it takes at least three months to prepare the voter list. According to this, voter lists will be ready only by the end of December or mid-January.
By then the battle cry for Lok Sabha elections will also be raised. In such a situation, it is considered certain that the civic elections will be postponed further. However, officials are avoiding saying anything about this right now.
