GB Nagar village decides to elect gram pradhan unopposed

Noida: Dalelpur, a tiny village in Gautam Budh Nagar located across the Yamuna bordering Haryana, has decided to elect its gram pradhan (village chief) unopposed

Noida: Dalelpur, a tiny village in Gautam Budh Nagar located across the Yamuna bordering Haryana, has decided to elect its gram pradhan (village chief) unopposed. The panchayat elections in GB Nagar will be held on April 19, district officials said, adding that the last date of filing nomination papers was April 8.

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Dalelpur, which was earlier part of Gulawli village, was made a separate village in 2018, the officials said. With a population of about 500, the village has around 200 voters, they said.

Local residents said that six people, including Kailash Chaprana, had initially filed their nominations for gram pradhan. “The local people recently held a meeting and decided to choose Kailash Chaprana unopposed. The other five people decided to withdraw their nomination papers,” said Neeraj Tyagi, a resident.

Chaprana, a 55-year-old farmer, said he is happy that the villagers have chosen him as gram pradhan. “Our village is disconnected from Noida and Greater Noida due to Yamuna river. The Haryana government used to supply electricity to the village. But the power supply has been disconnected due to the Freight Corridor project which passes through our village,” he said.

Chaprana said he will work to bring electricity to the village. “We charge our mobile phones using the batteries of cars. Also, we will develop a school, a hospital and a crematorium in the village,” he said.

Vandita Srivastava, ADM (finance) and returning officer, said that Dalelpur was made a separate village in 2018. “This is the first time since 2018 that the villagers are going to vote. Local people have decided to elect a candidate unopposed for gram pradhan. The election department will conduct a fair election in the village,” she said.

Dalelpur residents use a boat to cross Yamuna and visit Noida and Greater Noida. It takes them nearly 20 minutes to reach Greater Noida. The villagers said that if they use road route (a distance of about 70km), it will take them two hours to reach Greater Noida.

Meanwhile, the GB Nagar district administration has received around 3,000 nomination forms against 1,325 posts in the local elections. Diwakar Singh, ADM (executive) and returning officer, said that elections will be held for zila panchayat members, gram pradhans, and gram panchayat members, among others. “We are aware of Dalelpur village. The administration will make suitable arrangements for elections there,” he said.

According to the officials, Dalelpur became a part of Dadri assembly constituency after the delimitation exercise in 1983. Now, it comes under Jewar Block.