The Punjab and Haryana High Court has given a go-ahead for elections to be held with 35 wards.
After a delay of almost a year, elections for the Gurgaon municipal corporation will now finally be held in the city. And that too with 35 wards, not 32.
The decision comes after the Punjab and Haryana High Court lifted a stay order on the elections on Friday. This was based on information provided by the state’s additional advocate general Lokesh Sinhal that a formal notification had been issued on the boundaries of 35 wards.
Last year a delimitation order had been issued by the directorate of urban local bodies to bring down the number of wards from 35 to 32, based on the 2011 census. As per the order, cities with population less than 10 lakh but over 8 lakh were to be allotted 32 wards. The 2011 census pegged the population at 9.1 lakh.
However, Sinhal said that the results of a fresh survey conducted by the municipal corporation showed the population to be more than 11 lakh. Hence, the number of wards had been retained at 35.
He also refuted allegations of “political motives” behind the ordered delimitation.
Sinhal’s statement was pointed at the Qutab Enclave RWA of DLF Ph 1. The RWA in February had submitted a petition at the Punjab and Haryana High Court questioning both the legitimacy of the ward delimitation order and the decision to include members of only a certain political party in an ad-hoc committee formed to oversee this delimitation.
The high court bench orally asked the petitioner to challenge the notification if it was not satisfied with the new order, while formally lifting the stay on the municipal corporation elections.
