While the process for holding panchayat polls is currently on, the ball has also been set rolling to begin dividing municipalities into wards in 78 urban local bodies (ULBs), including 11 existing ones and 49 newly carved municipalities, as a precursor for holding elections there too.
The Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department has prepared draft delimitation proposals and has sought suggestions from the general public and the public representatives like MLAs, MLCs and MPs. Director of Municipal Administration T.K. Sreedevi, the designated election authority, has directed finalisation of the draft wards delimitation proposals, submission of proposals to the government through her office and issuance of the draft notification within the next few days.
Election Cell
Earlier, the DMA has announced setting up of an Election Cell comprising GHMC Additional Commissioner Jayaraj Kennedy, Joint Commissioner Pankaja and Director of Town & Country Planning Vidhyadhar for helping the ULBs.
As things stand now elections can be held to 78 municipalities, including old and new, because the others are mired in court cases. Of the 62 new municipalities which came into being, elections can be conducted for 47, municipal officials indicated.
Among the ‘old’ 74 ULBs, elections were held for 61 and the term of 56 will expire by February 2019 whereas municipal corporations of Hyderabad and Warangal along with municipalities of Khammam, Siddipet and Achampet have term till 2021. There are court cases in 38 of them against merger of gram panchayats.
Ward-wise rolls
Door-to-door surveys for identification of SC/ST/BC and women voters, preparation of ward-wise draft electoral rolls and their finalisation after seeking objections is expected to run into early next month for finalising the voters lists. What the government has to decide is whether the survey to identify SC/ST/BC/women voters should be restricted to the 78 municipalities, which can go for polls as they are free from legal tangles or for all the 136, including Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (BC voters only), including the merged villages, where there are court cases.
Smooth governance
The entire process is not only for the conduct of elections to urban local bodies but also to facilitate smooth governance and urban planning, Ms. Sreedevi explained in a note sent to the municipal commissioners concerned. The commissioners were directed to maintain population in the proposed wards is approximately equal and voting strength is uniform as far as possible with due regard to maintenance of natural boundaries, geographical features and contiguity of the area keeping in view of the suggestions received.
Voter strength
Variation in voting strength should not be more than 10% from one ward to the other in a municipality as the case may be with population figures of the last census of 2011 to be adopted for division of the municipality into wards, the note added.