Chairpersons’ term to end 10 months before schedule
DDCs will be intact excepting ULB Reps
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 7: Term of nearly 310 Block Development Councils (BDCs) will also come to an end on January 9 along with 4291 Panchayats as fresh elections for the posts of Sarpanchs and Panchs have been delayed due to variety of reasons including grant of reservation to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), delimitation of constituencies etc.
Five-year term of BDCs was scheduled to end in October 2024.
Official sources told the Excelsior that as per the Rules and Panchayati Raj Act, term of BDCs is co-terminus with the Panchayats and they too will cease to exist along with Panchayats on January 9 next year unless the Act is amended, the chances of which are bleak at this stage.
Moreover, as per the officials, Sarpanchs of the block are members of the Block Development Council. And when there are no members, the Chairman alone can’t take any decision. In such a scenario, the BDCs would be rendered defunct as elections to the Panchayats, which had to be completed a month ahead of completion of their term, have been delayed.
Election to nearly 310 BDCs were held in October 2019 and their five-year term was scheduled to end in October 2024.
Officials confirmed that going by the Panchayati Raj Act and Rules framed therein, term of the BDCs, which formed second tier of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), will end along with the Panchayats.
However, 20 District Development Councils (DDCs)-the third tier of the PRIs— will remain intact as they have 14 Members on their own besides the concerned Member of Parliament. But, there will be no member in the DDCs from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as they too are completing their term in a month or so.
Five-year term of the DDCs is scheduled to end in January 2026.
Elections to 77 Municipalities including 40 in Kashmir division and 37 in Jammu region and 4291 Panchayats were due in October-November this year but were delayed due to grant of reservation to OBCs for which a legislation has to be passed by the Parliament and discrepancies in number of electorates in different Wards of Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations that required delimitation.
“Once reservation to OBCs is granted, Wards in the Municipalities and Sarpanch and Panch segments in the Panchayats have to be reserved for them,” the officials said, Moreover, fresh delimitation has to be carried out to bring number of electorates at par in ULB and Panchayat constituencies.
The five-year term of Srinagar Municipal Corporation has ended on November 5, while the terms of other Urban Local Bodies will end between October 28 to December 26.
Term of Jammu Municipal Corporation will expire on November 14.
The end of the tenure of Urban Local Bodies means that the term of all Corporators/ Councilors, including those elected in bye-elections, is also over. The Mayors, Deputy Mayors, presidents, vice-presidents, Corporators/ Councilors of the ULBs would no longer be entitled to perks, privileges and honorarium.
Terms of all 77 Urban Local Bodies including 40 in Kashmir division and 37 in Jammu region has started ending and by December, terms of all Municipalities will come to an end.
“As term of the ULBs is counted from day of their first meeting, there are different dates for end of their five-year terms too. However, since all Panchayats were constituted on a single day, they will complete their five year tenure on January 9, 2024.
As already reported, powers of Mayors and Deputy Mayors of Corporations will shift to the Commissioners while in case of presidents and vice presidents, the powers will go to Administrators/ Executive Officers. Similarly, powers of Sarpanchs will be vested with BDOs.
However, as per the officials, it will be a temporary phase till elections to the ULBs and Panchayats are held.
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