Blueprint for municipal polls ready: MCG to have 36 wards, Manesar 20

The district administration has prepared a blueprint for the delimitation of wards in Gurugram and Manesar, with the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram set to have 36 wards and the Municipal Corporation of Manesar to have 20 wards. The delimitation was based on population data obtained through family identity cards and electoral rolls. Members of the ad hoc committee have been given three days to submit suggestions or objections before a final meeting is held and the draft recommendation is sent to the government for approval. The delimitation is necessary for conducting elections, which were delayed due to legal issues.

The district administration on Monday said the blueprint for carving out wards of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and Municipal Corporation of Manesar (MCM) has been prepared and both these corporations will have 36 and 20 wards, respectively.

Blueprint for municipal polls ready: MCG to have 36 wards, Manesar 20

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said on Monday that the wards have been carved out on the basis of population data obtained through Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP or family identity cards) and the electoral rolls.

Yadav on Monday presided over the ad hoc committee constituted for ward delimitation at the Mini Secretariat. It was attended by Pataudi MLA Satyaprakash Jaravata, Manesar municipal commissioner Sahil Gupta, additional DC Hitesh Kumar Meena and other members of the committee.

Yadav said the members of the ad hoc committee can study the formation of wards in detail and submit their suggestions/objections within the next three days. He said after getting the consent of the committee, a final meeting will be called next week after which the draft recommendation will be sent to the government for approval.

It may be recalled that the tenure of MCG councillors ended on November 2, 2022, and elections were to be conducted within six months. However, due to various delays and legal issues, the delimitation exercise could not be completed. Elections can be held only after the delimitation is carried out and approved by the state government, said officials.

Sharing details about the process adopted to carve out wards, Yadav said after the change in the Municipal Corporation Act, brought about by a government ordinance, it has been decided that electoral rolls for the municipal corporation wards will be prepared on the basis of family identity cards and the election data in both Gurugram and Manesar.

The deputy commissioner said while assessing the PPP and election data in each ward, PPP was considered as the basis of population in wards where PPP is more. In case, the number of PPP in a ward is less and more people are on the electoral rolls, then the election data was used as a basis to carve out wards.

Yadav said a population of 40,000 has been considered as average in each ward of Gurugram Municipal Corporation. Factored in with a fluctuation of 20%, this number will be around 32,000 on the lower side or about 48,000 on the higher side.

“All efforts are being made to ensure that city residents get maximum representation in the municipal elections. The MCG will have 36 wards while MCM will have 20 wards based on population,” he said.

GL Sharma, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) vice-president, when asked about the proposed delimitation of wards, said the last census was carried out in 2011 and the population in both Gurugram and Manesar has increased manifold since then.

“The population has increased and the 2011 data will not be an accurate representation of population in the present times. The PPP information is more relevant now as that information has been shared by citizens themselves and gives a more accurate picture of the population,” he said, adding that a mix of PPP and electoral rolls is the right way to delimit wards.

The Congress was not in favour if using PPP as the basis for carving out wards and said the exercise was only a tactic to delay the elections further. “Only 30% population in the district has family identity cards and this decision will not stand in a court of law. We oppose this move as it is discriminatory in creating wards,” he said.