Decks cleared for municipal elections

Officials told to allow objections to division of wards, voters’ lists for a week

With the Telangana High Court on Friday passing a direction fixing a time-bound plan for raising objections by people over division of wards and their clearance by authorities, decks have been cleared for holding elections to urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State.

Justice A. Rajasheker Reddy instructed that authorities of municipalities concerned should allow persons to raise objections over division of wards, strength of wards and voters lists for seven days. With this order, the single judge order staying elections in 65 municipalities is deemed to have been vacated.

As the term of 123 municipalities in the State ended a few weeks ago, the government appointed special officers to these municipalities. The government began an exercise to hold elections to these bodies and issued notification for division of wards and preparation of voters list.

Pre-poll process

Alleging that the pre-poll processes were not followed properly in 65 municipalities, petitions were filed in the HC. A single judge has issued a stay order on the matter. Meanwhile, two PIL pleas were filed with near similar contentions. A Divison Bench headed by Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan dismissed those pleas.

Subsequently, Additional Advocate General J. Ramchander Rao filed an affidavit before Justice A. Rajasheker Reddy court seeking to vacate the stay order on poll matters in 65 municipalities. After hearing contentions of petitioners and the government, the judge instructed that municipal commissioners of the 65 municipalities concerned should respond to the objections within a week.

Final notification

They would present a report on these matters to the Municipal Administration Director who would pass it on to the Principal Secretary to Municipal Administration. On the 15th day, the government would issue a final notification on wards and voters list of these 65 municipalities.

Eventually, the State Election Commission would be provided with the details and the latter would set in motion the process of holding polls to 123 municipalities, including the 65 over which pleas were filed.