Delimitation of panchayats and wards is likely to be complete by the mid-February thus clearing the road ahead for conducting Panchayat elections in Jharkhand. The State Election Commission outlined the roadmap of the entire process after publishing the draft report on delimitation.
“We expect the process to be complete by the mid of February. The draft has been published and now, we are waiting for objections till January 12,” said State Election Commissioner (SEC) Shiv Basant. The number of panchayat wards is likely to jump considering the basis of the delimitation, which is the census figures for a state.
The delimitation conducted before last elections was based on the 2001 census whereas, the process this time has been conducted on the basis of 2011 census. According to a rough estimate, the number of wards in panchayats is likely to reach around 50,000 from about 44,000 in 2010. Notably, as per the Panchayati Raj Act, one ward is formed for a population of 500.
“There has been a jump of about 25 per cent in the population since 2001. So, obviously number of wards will increase from last delimitation,” maintained the SEC. The commission published the draft on delimitation on January 3 and has invited objections over the report. The process will pave the way for conducting panchayat elections in Jharkhand, which is likely to be held towards the latter half of 2015.