Ahead of the three-tier panchayat elections, the State Government on Friday issued a final reservation list for the post of Zilla Parishad Chairperson in all 30 districts across the State.
The Government has reserved 18 seats for various categories. As many as 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates while four seats are reserved for SC and four others for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
As per the notification published by the Panchayati Raj Department, the four districts reserved for OBCs are Angul, Nayagarh, Khordha and Subarnapur.
The Government has reserved the ZP chief post in Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts for the SC category while ST persons are to lead the ZPs in Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Baleswar, Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Rayagada, and Sundargarh districts.
Similarly, Zilla Parishad chief posts of six districts such as Kendrapada, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Puri, Balangir and Sambalpur have been put under unreserved category.
However, the notification did not mention anything on the reservation of the ZP chairperson seat for the districts of Kalahandi, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Nuapada, Bargarh and Boudh. Anyone can become the ZP chairperson in these districts, sources said.
The total reservation has exceeded 50 per cent limit because of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996. Six districts like Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Nabarangpur are fully covered under the PESA Act. So, the seats have been reserved for tribal candidates only. Out of the remaining 24 districts, in 12 districts (50 per cent) reserved for different categories, the sources said.
Moreover, the State Government has reserved 50 per cent of all ZP chief posts for women candidates. The districts are Angul, Cuttack, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Koraput, Khurda, Gajapati, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Nuapada, Bargarh, Boudh, Bhadrak, Malkangiri and Rayagada.