Ludhiana ward delimitation in final stage, objections to be invited soon

As per the rules, it is mandatory for the government to conduct elections within six months after the house completes its terms

Amid the speculations over the announcement of municipal corporation elections, it is expected that the ward delimitation map will be made public in the coming week. The officials in the MC’s town planning department said that the survey and fieldwork regarding the delimitation are near completion.

Ludhiana ward delimitation in final stage, objections to be invited soon. (HT PHOTO)

As per the rules, it is mandatory for the government to conduct elections within six months after the house completes its term. The current house of the municipal corporation in which Congress had majority members completed its term on March 25.

As per the sources in the local bodies department, elections are expected to be held during the last week of September. The door-to-door survey for ward delimitation was started in June 2022 by the newly elected Aam Aadmi Party government. The staff for the same was hired through outsourcing.

The survey which recorded the demographic changes in the wards was completed in February 2022.

The delimitation exercise, which is to be carried out after ten years as per the rules, was last undertaken by Congress in 2018. At the time, the number of wards had increased from 75 to 95.

The last ward delimitation meeting which was scheduled on April 10, had been cancelled amid allegations of foul play by opposition parties. Meetings for this purpose were also invited on December 27, 2022, January 20 and March 7 this year, but no progress was made.

Former councillor Inder Aggarwal, representing Bharatiya Janata Party, said that as the AAP has won the elections with sweeping majority the elections should be conducted in advance. He added that as the house has completed its term the members of opposition party are no longer members of delimitation committee. He added that civic issues are going unaddressed as there are no public representatives in the wards,so elections should be conducted soon.