Experts say civic polls may not be held in the national capital for another year, amid the Center forming a panel for fresh delimitation of municipal wards in Delhi.
Earlier, the elections were to be held in April 2022, but were postponed due to amalgamation of the three municipal corporations that came into existence in May 2022 into a single civic body.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) issued a statement on 9 July saying that the Union Home Ministry has constituted a three-member commission for delimitation of municipal wards in Delhi.
Read also: Delhi: Center constitutes three-member panel to delineate municipal wards
The exercise will pave the way for civic polls in Delhi, the first since the reunification of the three corporations in May.
However, former Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta said that the delimitation is an “extensive exercise” and may take a year or a half.
“Also, public can raise objections and public representatives can also approach the commission with suggestions. So, I don’t expect elections for at least a year from now,” he said.
On how soon the delimitation exercise can be conducted on the expected time frame, Mehta said, “It took me one-and-a-half year to do it, when I was the state election commissioner,” he said.
The Union Home Ministry has selected Delhi State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev to head the delimitation panel, which has Pankaj Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Randhir Sahai, Additional Commissioner, MCD, as its other two members. has been selected in. ,
The order issued by the MHA on July 8, a copy of which was shared by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter on Saturday. The commission has to complete the exercise and submit its report within four months of the issuance of the order.
With PTI input.