BHUBANESWAR: The state election commission (SEC) on Tuesday said panchayat polls in Odisha could be delayed because of non-finalization of seat reservation and ward delimitation process by the state government.
Even as the poll panel has written to the government to complete the process by April-end, the state government has not initiated it.
Official sources said the SEC is likely to write another letter to the state government to complete the process without further delay.
The current tenure of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) in the state ends on March 10, 2022.
“The first requirement to hold panchayat election is to finalize the delimitation and reservation process, which is the responsibility of the state government.
The process has not been completed till date.
Looking at the current scenario, panchayat election is likely to be delayed,” said Rabindra Sahu, secretary SEC.
Sahu said the state poll panel will start the next process only after the government finalizes the delimitation and seat reservation process.
While state government sources cited Covid-19 pandemic behind delay in completing the delimitation and seat reservation process, sources said limiting the reservation of seats in PRIs to 50% seems to be the major hurdle.
During the 2017 panchayat poll, the reservation process was around 64%, which was later challenged in the Orissa high court through a public interest litigation.
The high court, in an order on April 18, 2018, had asked the state government not to exceed 50% in total reservation of seats for SC, ST and backward classes in nonscheduled areas for local body polls.
The Supreme Court had later upheld the high court order.
In order to limit reservation of seats within 50%, the state government needs to amend the panchayat laws — the Orissa Grama Panchayat Act-1964, the Orissa Panchayat Samiti Act-1999 and the Orissa Zilla Parishad Act-1991.
“The state government is yet to start the amendment process,” said a senior government official.
Earlier, the opposition parties had slammed the state government for trying to delay the panchayat polls like the civic bodies poll anticipating defeat.
Panchayat and civic body polls indicate mood of the people in the state.
Non-finalization of delimitation and reservation process has delayed the civic body elections and the municipal bodies are being run by state-appointed bureaucrats for more than two years now.