Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 27: The Government has indefinitely put off the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections in the State, which the Urban Development Department had offered to hold anytime after May 15. However, citing tourist season, upcoming Amarnath yatra and ‘security considerations’, the Government has finally decided to ‘defer’ them.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Urban Development Department, which was responsible for holding the elections to Municipalities, had submitted a memo to Cabinet for its readiness to hold the ULB elections anytime after May 15 about two months back.
However, about seven Cabinet meetings held after the submission of memo by the Urban Development Department during past over two months didn’t take up the issue of holding the Municipal elections, which have been hanging fire for past more than three years.
“The Government has decided not to hold elections at this stage without, officially, assigning any reasons. It has also not fixed any fresh deadline for holding the elections. A decision on the elections could, however, be taken after the completion of tourist season and Amarnath yatra,’’ sources said.
They added that unofficially the Government has listed tourist season in the Kashmir Valley, upcoming 55 days long Amarnath yatra from June 28 to August 21 and ‘security considerations’ as the reasons for not holding the elections before June 30.
The Government was of the view that like Sarpanchs and Panchs, the Corporators and Councils of the Municipal Corporations, Councils and Committees could also become ‘soft targets’ of the militants especially in the Kashmir Valley.
“Already the Government was finding it difficult to protect the Panchayat members. The Municipal members could have also become the targets of the militants,’’ sources said, adding that there were also some political reasons attached to postponement of the elections. The Government was of the view that a defeat in the elections for the two Alliance partners wouldn’t have augured well as Parliamentary and Assembly elections were due next year.
Sources were of the view that it would be impossible for the Government to hold elections even in September to November i.e. after the completion of tourist season and Amarnath yatra as the entire Election Department and other administrative machinery would be busy in holding summary revision of voter lists from the first week of September this year for next year’s Parliamentary elections.
The electoral rolls of summary revision would be published in the first week of January. Unless advanced, the Parliament elections are due to be held in March-April next year as the new Government had to be in place by the middle of May. A couple of months after the Lok Sabha polls, The State Government would be gearing up for holding Assembly elections, which were due in November-December next year as the new Government had to be in place before January 5, 2015.
The Urban Local Bodies elections were last held in January 2005 during Mufti Sayeed regime after a gap of 26 years. The Municipalities were formally constituted in March 2005 and they completed their five years term in March 2010. However, the Government made no attempts to hold the elections in time and kept on delaying them on one pretext or the other.
Similar has become the fate of Block Development Council (BDC) elections, which were cancelled after announcement in October last year. The elections to 143 chairpersons of BDC, who had to be elected by Sarpanchs and Panchs were deferred following demand from some quarters including the Congress that the elections would have no meaning without reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.
After canceling the elections, several Committees were constituted by National Conference and Congress and the Government for studying the provisions of 73rd amendment of the Constitution of India, which should be incorporated in the Panchayati Raj Act before holding the BDC elections.
However, a consensus on the provisions remained elusive so far.
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