Punjab civic body polls not likely before Sept

Terms of 9 MCS, 117 municipal councils and notified area committees came to an end between Mar 8 & Apr 26

CHANDIGARH: Even as the terms of nine municipal corporations and 117 municipal councils and notified area committees in Punjab came to an end between March 8 and April 26, the elections to these urban local bodies are likely to go beyond August in view of the Covid-19 outbreak.

The government has appointed administrators to run the operations of the bodies, including the Mohali, Bathinda, Moga, Batala, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Kapurthala and Pathankot municipal corporations.

Punjab has a total of 167 urban local bodies.

The state government in February had announced that civic body polls will held in June and July. “We have appointed officers as administrators so that the work is not affected. There no denying an uncertainty over the poll schedule,” said local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra.

As per the Municipal Corporation Act, 1911, the civic bodies must go to the polls within six months of expiry of their term.

This means the administrators cannot function beyond six months.

While Bathinda, Moga and Mohali had mayors owing allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Phagwara, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur had mayors linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Civic bodies of Abohar, Kapurthala and Batala were also given the status of municipal corporation but they are still to get an elected body as the delimitation of wards is underway.

Most of the councils and notified area committees, whose term has ended, have presidents and a majority of members from the SAD-BJP as they went to the polls when the alliance was in power in Punjab.

Mohali mayor Kulwant Singh on being contacted said 250 development works proposed by the MC awaited clearance from the local bodies department.

“Now, the government will push the development works. The Congress government wants to take credit for the works which were planned by us,” he said.

“Since life is coming back to normal I will ask request the minister in-charge to hold a meeting on further course of action,” said rural development and panchayats minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, who is part of a committee constituted by the CM to decide on the civic body polls.

THE STATE GOVERNMENT IN FEBRUARY HAD ANNOUNCED THAT CIVIC BODY POLLS WILL BE HELD IN JUNE AND JULY