The commission is hopeful of completing the task on time, that is by November second week. The delimitation process by the three-member commission to decrease the number of municipal wards in Delhi is on track — 75% of the work is completed, and the first draft is likely to be ready in the next 10 days, sources said.
The commission has altered the geography of 22 of 70 Vidhan Sabha constituencies with more than five wards while the remaining 48 were not touched. The Assembly constituencies that would see geographical changes are Burari, Rithala, Bawana, Mundka, Kirari, Najafgarh, Bijwasan, Narela, Deoli, Babarpur, Okhla, Uttam Nagar, and Vikaspuri as these are the constituencies with five or more wards.
“Vidhan Sabha constituencies with more number of wards were basically chosen so that parity is achieved in terms of the size. For instance, Matiala Vidhan Sabha had seven wards, so the number of wards here has been decreased. Three other Assembly segments had six wards and 12 Assembly constituencies had five wards which have also undergone alterations,” a source said.
Sources said the first draft will be framed in the next 10 days and will be sent to the ministry for approval. Once approved, it will be uploaded on the website to seek suggestions from the general public. “After their suggestions and objections are incorporated, it will be again sent to the ministry for notification,” he said.
The commission is hopeful of completing the task on time, that is by November second week.
Meanwhile, the central government Saturday notified the reduction of wards and councillor positions in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi from 272 to 250. Out of the 250 wards, 42 will be reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Caste category.
This step was necessitated following the passage of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, earlier this year. The legislation, passed in Parliament in March, effected the merger of the three erstwhile corporations and a reduction in the number of councillor seats to “not more than 250” from the existing 272.
The MCD polls, originally scheduled for April, were put off hours before the election schedule was to be announced. The election was called off as the central government wanted to unify the MCDs and conduct delimitation to make fewer wards.