PNS | DEHRADUN
Even as both the major political parties, the BJP and Congress have started the process of selection of candidates, confusion still prevails over the dates of the elections of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the State. The State government has given an undertaking in the Uttarakhand High Court that the process of ULB elections will be completed in the State before December 25 but the ordinance on the OBC reservation is still pending with the Raj Bhawan.
After approval of the State cabinet the government had sent the ordinances on protecting the slums and change in OBC reservation in ULBs to the Raj Bhawan. The secretariat of governor has given its approval to the ordinance on slums but the OBC reservation in ULBs ordinance is pending in the Raj Bhawan. It is learnt that the Raj Bhawan is pondering over the ordinance since the issue is pending with the select committee of the Vidhan Sabha. Some experts however opine that the State government can still hold the ULB election on the basis of an order of Supreme Court order on single member commission for deciding OBC reservation in ULBs.
It is worth mentioning here that during the monsoon session of Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha, the Speaker Ritu Bhushan Khanduri had sent the contentious Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh Municipal corporation 1959) Amendment Bill 2024 to the select committee of the Assembly. After some deliberations the select committee gave its green signal to the government to decide OBC reservation on the basis of the census of 2011.
There are 102 ULBs in the State and the elections for 99 ULBs (barring Kedarnath, Badrinath and Gangotri Nagar Panchayats) will be held. The term of the ULBs in the State had ended in December 2023 after which administrators were appointed in the ULBs.
