PANAJI: Following the strong criticism from various sections of society, the directorate of panchayats has kept on hold the process for delimitation of panchayat wards, leaving it to new government which will come to power after March 11.
Panchayats director Gurudas Pilarnekar on Friday told ‘The Navhind Times’ that the panchayats directorate has decided to keep on hold the delimitation process after some people raised objections.
He said that new government would decide on date of panchayats polls and ward delimitation.
The state election commission has proposed May 21, 2017 as the date for holding polls to 186 village panchayats in the state. However, final decision in this regard will have to be taken by the new government.
He said the spadework for delimitation of wards has been carried out by the directorate but the process at government level has not yet started as he has not sent file to the government.
After taking instructions from the state poll panel six months before the tentative polling date had been proposed, he had asked his staff to begin spadework on ward delimitation. “Since some people have raised objections to this I have decided to keep the process on hold,” Pilarnekar said.
Explaining the process initiated by his department, he said electoral rolls prepared by the Election Commission of India focus on parts, whereas for panchayats election they have to prepare electoral rolls ward-wise.
The process of reservation of wards will be taken up after wards are delimited, he said adding that the department would also identified settlements of scheduled caste people so that some wards could be reserved to the community for the panchayat polls.
In 2012, when the BJP government came to power, the state saw chaotic scenes over reservation and delimitation of wards.
That time many MLAs had intervened in the process initiated by the directorate of panchayats seeking ‘favourable’ rectifications in it.