E-Paper
Urban local bodies polls in Bihar on time: Dy CM
Elections for urban local bodies in Bihar would be held on time, the state government assured the assembly on Thursday, amid apprehensions of delay owing to Supreme Court ruling that mandates that triple test criteria be followed for giving reservations to other backward classes (OBCs) in these polls.
Elections for urban local bodies in Bihar would be held on time, the state government assured the assembly on Thursday, amid apprehensions of delay owing to Supreme Court ruling that mandates that triple test criteria be followed for giving reservations to other backward classes (OBCs) in these polls.
Replying to a short notice question, deputy chief minister and urban development department Tarkishore Prasad said, “ We are seeking advice from the law department. Once we get the opinion within the next few days, we will try to address the issue to conduct urban local bodies polls on time.”
BJP’s Sanjay Sarougi had sought to know if elections would be delayed because of the apex court order. He also highlighted that the State Election Commission (SEC) has already written to urban development department that it would not be possible to hold these polls timely in light of the triple test criteria required to be followed as per SC orders.
“Government is committed to holding the urban local bodies polls at the earliest,” the deputy CM said.
However, officials in the SEC and urban development department said uncertainty loomed large over the conduct of urban local bodies polls in May-June as the work on meeting the triple test criteria has not yet begun.
The triple test criteria stipulates setting up a “dedicated commission to conduct a contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness as regards local bodies within the state”, to specify proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body-wise as per recommendations of the commission, and that the number of seats reserved in favour of SCs, STs and OBCs taken together should not exceed 50 per cent of the total number of seats.
Bihar government is yet to form the dedicated commission.
In Bihar, there are 263 urban local bodies, which include 19 municipal corporations, 89 municipal councils and 155 nagar panchayats.
Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi, who is a former deputy chief minister, had also raised the issue of possibility of delay in conduct of urban local bodies polls in Bihar, like in Karnataka, in Parliament on March 29.
The five-year term of the majority of urban local bodies in Bihar would end by June-end. “ It is possible the urban local bodies would be taken over by administrators for a certain period of time if polls are not held in May-June. These bodies cannot remain headless,” said an official in urban development department.
Last year, the state government had brought an ordinance, Bihar Panchayati Raj (Amendment) ordinance, 2021, when there was delay in holding panchayat polls after the term of rural local bodies expired on June 15 and had appointed advisory committees to run the rural local bodies for a tenure of six months.
