Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 2: The Urban Development and Local Bodies Department today formally conveyed to the Government its preparedness to hold elections to Municipalities on or any time after May 15.
The Department would be sending a formal communication to Chief Secretary Mohammad Iqbal Khandey for preparing a Cabinet memo on holding the elections to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) after a gap of more than eight years.
Official sources told the Excelsior that the Urban Development and Local Bodies Department after consultations with the State Election Department today conveyed to the Government that it was ready to hold elections to Municipalities on or after May 15.
“It was no up to the Cabinet to take a final call on dates of the elections. We will be completing our preparation for holding elections to Municipalities by the end of this month. The Government can decide the timing and write to the Chief Electoral Officer to complete elections by a particular date,’’ sources said.
They added that the Election Department has conveyed that it would be completing the exercise of including/deletion of names from electoral rolls this week after which it would invite objections of two weeks before publication of final rolls by the end of this month.
On pending notification of Ganderbal Municipality, sources said some areas would be deleted and merged with the Rural Development Department.
They added that rest all formalities for holding the elections to the ULBs after more than eight years have been completed by the Urban Development as well as Election Department.
The Election Department would be publishing final electoral rolls after the revision of both Jammu and Srinagar Municipal Corporations and all other ULBs by this month end.
According to sources, the Urban Development and Local Bodies Department would formally write a letter to the Chief Secretary in the next few days listing in details its complete preparedness to hold elections to the Municipalities on or after May 15.
The Chief Secretary would be preparing the Cabinet memo on the basis of Urban Development and Local Bodies Department letter. The Cabinet would take the final call on the elections, sources said.
After the Cabinet nod, the Urban Development and Local Bodies Department had to write to the Chief Electoral Officer setting deadline for completion of the elections.
Sources said the Government would weigh all pros and cons including assessment of situation in the Kashmir Valley, tourist season and annual Amarnath pilgrimage before deciding on the elections.
The elections to Municipalities were held in January-February 2005 after a gap of 26 years. The elected Municipalities had completed their five years term in March 2010. Since then the elections to the Municipalities continued to be delayed on one pretext or the other.
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