The Karnataka Government on Saturday extended the term of the committee constituted to take up the delimitation of wards in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits by six months. The notification stated that the six-month term has been extended retrospectively from July 28, 2021. This means that its term will end on January 28, 2022.
The government has stated that following the outbreak of the pandemic, lockdown and surge in cases in the city, the progress of the delimitation exercise had taken a hit. Though the delimitation exercise for the 243 wards picked up pace after the second wave of COVID-19, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta had told The Hindu that the draft for 243 wards was ready, though not yet finalised.
It’s been more than a year since the term of the elected body in BBMP ended. With the extended term of the delimitation committee now ending in January 2022, the polls to the BBMP council may be pushed further. Once the draft is finalised, it will have to be sent to the government for approval. The government will then publish a draft notification, calling for objections from the public, following which the final notification will be published. It is based on this that the State Election Commission will have to fix the election.
The delimitation committee is headed by BBMP Chief Commissioner, DC of Bengaluru (Urban) district, BDA commissioner, with BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Revenue) being the committee secretary.