Lucknow: For the first time in Uttar Pradesh, the urban body elections will be held on the basis of triple test. In such a situation, amendment will be made in the existing Act of Municipal Corporation to implement the new system of reservation. The Urban Development Department has started talks with the Law Department on this. A proposal for amendment will be prepared after consulting the Law Department. However, this process will start after getting permission from the Supreme Court to conduct elections. The report of the dedicated Backward Classes Commission submitted by the government is to be heard on March 24.
Till now there was a provision to give reservation to the backward classes in terms of population in the urban bodies. That is, the percentage of OBC population in the urban body, the same percentage of OBC seats will be reserved in it. While 27 percent reservation was fixed for the body heads. However, this time the seats will be reserved on the basis of triple test, then the number of reserved seats will not be decided according to the population but according to their political status. In such a situation, changes will be made in the Municipal Corporation Act and the Municipality Act to change the methods of the existing reservation status. If the Supreme Court accepts the report of the commission, then according to its recommendations, changes will be made in the Act. The government wants to declare elections in April. In such a situation, its preparations have been started.
Preparations started in bodies too
The phase of election preparations has also started in the urban bodies. Sources reveal that in the past, the Urban Development Department has instructed all the urban bodies to review the preparations made earlier for conducting the elections. If some amendment has to be done then discuss its draft. It has been indicated to the bodies that as soon as the green signal is received from the Supreme Court to conduct the elections, work will be started on other aspects including preparation of reservation conditions afresh. It will not take much time, so preparations should be done well in advance. Sources reveal that video conferencing of administrative heads of all urban bodies was also held in this regard in the past, in which instructions were issued to them.
If survey is done then it will take more time
If the rapid survey is to be conducted again according to the objections of the commission, then it is expected to take time. This has been discussed in the department in the past. It has been found that it may take an additional time of about 15 days to get the rapid survey done. The decision on all these aspects will be decided only after the Supreme Court’s stand.
