The Supreme Court Monday directed the Punjab government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to notify the schedule for elections to five municipal corporations and 42 municipal councils within 15 days and complete the entire process in eight weeks from the notification.
The order has jolted into action the state government, which had challenged a Punjab and Haryana High Court’s October 19 order to notify elections in all civic bodies within 15 days without conducting a fresh exercise of delimitation.
A top court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, while partially modifying the HC order, held that the the Punjab government’s reliance on the pending delimitation was misplaced, particularly because no significant changes in population or municipal boundaries had occurred.
“No question of delimitation…You first go and hold the elections. There are two Supreme Court judgments against you. Law mandates that you start the process (of elections) before expiry of the (five-year) term (of the civic bodies,” the bench observed after hearing submissions by Punjab Advocate General Gurminder Singh and senior Advocate Dr AM Singhvi.
The top court also questioned the state government for challenging the HC order saying “for panchayat polls you are very keen but for municipalities you want to delay on some pretext or the other”.
Punjab had submitted that 16 weeks were required for completing the entire process of delimitation.
Modifying the HC order, the top court gave Punajb another two weeks to notify the poll process and complete the same within two months thereafter.
In its October 19 order, the HC had directed the Punjab government and the State Election Commission to notify within polls to municipal corporations of Phagwara, Amritsar, Patiala, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, apart from 42 municipal councils/nagar panchayats within 15 days. The elections to the five municipal corporations had been pending for two years.
Politically, the government wanted to conduct the municipal elections in the state after Delhi Assembly elections. The Delhi Assembly elections were held in February, 2020 while the dates for fresh elections are yet to be announced. The Aam Aadmi Party government, it is learnt, was planning to line up its leaders for campaigning in the national capital, where party has its government, after the bypolls to four Assembly seats — Gidderbaha, Barnala, Chabbewal and Dera Baba Nanak — in Punjab on November 20.
Now, the government would have to issue a notification by November 26 and finish the election process by January 11.
Hours after the state government failed to get any relief from Supreme Court, state Local Government Minister Dr Ravjot Singh called a meeting of MLAs and municipal commissioners, many of them from the cities where municipal elections are to be held. Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, and Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh were also present in the meeting.
Among others municipal commissioners from Patiala, Jalandhar, and Amritsar; additional deputy commissioners from Patiala, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran; and executive officers from various municipal councils and panchayats, including Raja Sansi, Narot Jaimal Singh, Khemkaran, Tarn Taran, Sanaur, Devigarh, Ghanaur, Ghagga, Bhadson, Gharuan, Goraya, Shahkot, Bhogpur, and Bilga attended the meeting.
Sources present during the meeting, said Ravjot Singh asked MLAs to prioritise development works in their areas so that these could be initiated before the model code of conduct kicks in. A government statement said he instructed officials to accelerate the completion of ongoing development projects across the state.
At the start of the meeting, Minister Ravjot Singh reviewed the progress of projects under various schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT Mission, and the 15th Finance Commission. He emphasised the importance of maintaining high-quality standards in development works.
The minister instructed that tenders should be called promptly for sewerage and water treatment plants whose Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have been completed, so work can commence at the earliest. He also emphasised identifying panchayat land for these projects in coordination with the district administration, and if panchayat land was unavailable, alternative private land should be identified and rates finalized as per government guidelines.
He also highlighted that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s vision is to make cities garbage-free. He stressed that no garbage piles should be present anywhere and emphasised effective waste management, focusing on door-to-door waste segregation.
He also directed officials to ensure daily cleanliness in their respective areas, including timely cleaning of sewer systems and emphasised providing clean drinking water to residents, keeping street lights operational, and focusing on the cleaning and beautification of ponds.
He mentioned that there is no shortage of funds for development projects. Therefore, if any urban local bodies require additional funds for other projects, they should prepare a complete proposal and submit it to the headquarters.
Modifying the HC order, the top court gave Punajb another two weeks to notify the poll process and complete the same within two months thereafter. (File Image) 
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