The State Government is considering amendment of the Odisha Municipal (Delimitation of Wards, Reservation of Seats and Conduct Elections) Rules for holding Urban Local Bodies (ULB) elections in the State.
This was stated by Housing, Law and Urban Development Minister Pratap Jena in a written reply to BJD MLA Soumya Ranjan Patnaik in the State Assembly on Tuesday.
The process has been delayed because of Covid pandemic, the Minister further added.It may be noted that the Orissa High Court had struck down the Odisha Municipal Rules 2016 in 2018 as reservation of seats had crossed 50 per cent. The reserved seats as per the Odisha Munuicipal Rules had touched 66 per cent.
The State Government moved the Supreme Court, but the latter upheld the HC judgement on January 22, 2019. Of the 116 ULBs in the State, 114 do not have elected representatives. Sources said the Government wants to conduct the ULB polls before the panchayat polls which are due around March next year.