By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 25 Apr: It has been several months that the Urban Local Bodies in the state completed their tenure in December last year and have been dissolved since. The elections were due before December so that new municipal corporations and boards could be constituted but, perhaps, due to some political considerations, the government did not seem in any hurry to hold Municipal Elections. However, now that the High Court has reprimanded the government and asked it to ensure that the elections are conducted at the earliest, the government had submitted an affidavit in the High Court, assuring the court that the urban local bodies will be constituted within six months. This affidavit was submitted in January but it does not appear possible that the ULB elections can be held before June and new bodies constituted.
However, despite this assurance and the affidavit, the government and the State Election Commission need to take a few measures before the elections can be held. These measures can only begin once the Model Code of Conduct is lifted.
It remains to be seen if the government is really serious and seeks to obtain permission from the Election Commission of India to move ahead with these steps. On 9 January, the government had filed an affidavit in the High Court saying that civic elections would be conducted within six months. Recently, the court had made it clear that the term of the administrators will not be extended under any circumstances. Accordingly, elections will have to be held within six months.
The major task before the state election commission is fixing constituencies regarding reservation of wards for the SC and ST and OBC categories. A single-member dedicated commission has submitted a report on OBC reservation in civic bodies. This report has further complicated the reservation of wards for OBCs. If the recommendations of the commission are accepted, then reservation in some municipal bodies in the state for OBCs will come down to 14 percent and in some bodies, the reservations will go up to 30 percent. However, the current Municipal Bodies (Corporations and Councils) Act provides only for only 14 percent OBC reservation. Therefore, the government will have to amend the Act, so that new reservation can be implemented in the bodies. To be able to amend the Act, the government will have to seek permission of the Election Commission of India. In addition, after the completion of reservation process, it will be implemented from the district level. Then the State Election Commission will issue the notification. Elections will be held on this basis.
Now it remains to be seen how the government and the Election Commission move forward in this direction. According to official sources, preparations for several measures are complete. As there is MCOC in force and the assembly is not in session, the decision will have to be taken by the Cabinet and later ratified by the assembly.
