Ahead of Urban Local Body Polls: Cabinet nod to amend two urban body laws

“We made our reservation process public on December 5, 2022, but some people moved the court. Following the (Supreme) court’s directives, a dedicated commission was constituted to look into the backwardness of areas. We got the report of the commission, which was placed before the Cabinet and the Supreme Court,” said Sharma.

“To implement the commission’s recommendations, some amendments were required in the existing law. Therefore, the Cabinet approved a draft ordinance for both the Municipal Corporation Act and the Nagar Palika Act,” the minister added.

Asked about the details of the suggested amendments, Sharma said these details would be shared once the ordinance recommendations are given the go-ahead by the Governor.

The five-member commission, headed by Justice (retired) Ram Avtar Singh, had submitted its report to the Cabinet on March 9 after looking into the process of identifying backwardness on the basis of the “triple-test” formula.

On Monday, while clearing the way for holding the urban local body polls with OBC quota, the Supreme Court said in its order, “The Solicitor General informs that… the process of notifying the local body elections is going on and will be done in two days.”