Remapping of wards cancelled, will delay civic body polls
However, the government will have to pass the test of law, as the ruling and opposition party legislators admit that the amendments will be challenged in court
The Maharashtra government has issued a gazetted notification on the cancellation of remapping/ delimitation of wards in Mumbai and other civic bodies.
The order was released after the Governor last week signed two bills to amend the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act and the Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act 1965, and the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act and the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act 1961 in the legislature.
The bills were passed unanimously in both the Council and the Assembly, paving the way for the delay of elections to 15 municipal corporations, 25 zilla parishads and 232 nagar parishads in the state.
However, the government will have to pass the test of law, as the ruling and opposition party legislators admit that the amendments will be challenged in the court of law.
The government’s notification is important as the bills had clearly said that “it is proposed to annul the process for dividing the areas of local and civic bodies in wards, electoral divisions or electoral colleges thereof, started or completed by the State Election Commission before the commencement of the proposed amendments”.
Further, the bills had added, “The government considers it expedient to take power for reformation of the wards.”
The ruling and opposition parties had unanimously passed the bills as they had strongly argued for no election till the OBC reservation was restored.
In view of the government notification, the wards in local and civic bodies will now be reformed. The ruling and opposition parties had unanimously passed the two bills as they had strongly argued for no election till the OBC reservation was restored. They had pointed out that the OBC community would be left out if the elections were held in the absence of the reservation in the local and civic bodies.