Delimitation report gets nod with minor changes

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 29

With minor modifications, UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore has given his approval to the report on delimitation of Municipal Corporation (MC) wards. However, the final notification on delimitation of the wards would be issued soon.

The Delimitation Committee for wards had received several objections and suggestions against the draft notification issued by the Local Government Department, UT Administration, on December 9.

However, in the final report submitted by the committee, boundaries of several newly proposed wards, including Sector 13 and Sector 38 (West), were altered. But, the total number of wards increased in the draft notification from the existing 26 to 35 would remain the same.

In an objection filed with the committee, Col Gursewak Singh (retd), president, Resident Welfare Association (RWA), Modern Housing Complex (MHC), had submitted that the notification on delimitation of wards had caused a great deal of anguish and resentment among residents of 3,353 dwelling units of the MHC in Sector 13. It was noticed that the ward proposed defied logic and thus rejected by all residents of the MHC, he had stated.

He had submitted that the main objection was that the proposed ward number 4 would be divided into three different pockets with no contiguity. Moreover, clubbing of high-revenue generating MHC with faraway Basti Kishangarh, having large rural voters, would be counter-productive, he had stated.

The department had invited views, comments or suggestions, if any, from the general public and other stakeholders on the draft notification within seven days. The process was necessitated as the MC is going to the poll in December 2021.

On the basis of the 2001 Census, the last delimitation of wards was held in 2006. However, the next process for delimitation of wards, which was to be held in 2015 on the basis of the 2011 Census, could not be conducted as the issue of merger of the villages with the MC was still pending.

At present, there are 26 wards in the MC, which include sectors and nine villages. The 13 new villages that were included in the MC last year only are Bahlana, Raipur Khurd, Raipur Kalan, Makhan Majra, Daria, Mauli Jagran, Kishangarh, Kaimbwala, Khuda Ali Sher, Khuda Jassu, Khuda Lahora, Sarangpur and Dhanas.