Journalism of Courage
Going by the buzz among the elected board members,it is very likely that the cantonment board elections in the country may take place in December. This implies that cantonment boards of Pune,Khadki and Dehu Road will go to polls by year end as they have already completed their five-year term.
Karan Makwani,former vice-president of Pune Cantonment Board,said the poll date is likely to be December 22. He said Director-General of Defence Estates (DGDE) has written to the MoD indicating that the elections for all the cantonment boards in the country be held on this day.
The non-availability of 2011 Census report had led to the postponement of cantonment elections. Given that the previous cantonment elections were held on May 18,2008,the next elections were expected to take place by May 18,but the members have been granted extension till December 31.
The PCB last week reserved Makwanis ward number four for Scheduled Caste. This will be followed by the reservation for women,for which a draw of lot is likely to take place on September 20. This was earlier scheduled on September 17,but has been postponed because of Ganesh festival, Makwani said.
Makwanis claim was substantiated by another cantonment member,who said the elections are likely to be held in December. It is being talked that DGDE has put December 22 deadline for the elections. In fact September 17 was the deadline for submission of wards with womens reservation. We are hoping that the dates will be announced after Diwali.
There is another lot of elected board members who believe that the elections will be postponed and that the members will get a further extension till June. Prasad Kedari,board member and finance committee chairman,cited the 2014 general elections as one of the reasons that could led to postponement.
Further,major projects such as the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP),solid waste management project amounting to about Rs 40 crore are pending and that may be another reason as to why elections may get postponed to June 2014, said Kedari. Sangeeta Pawar of ward number two said,There is possibility of getting a further extension.
Meanwhile,on September 20,the lottery for wards with women reservation in the upcoming elections will decide the fate of ward number three,presently represented by Kedari,one by Shailendra Bidkar,seven of Santosh Kavde and eight of Manzur Shaikh. On the other hand,ward number two,five and six,which are presently represented by women,will be opened for all candidates.
The gossip among board members indicate that the elections might be a reality soon unlike the 2008 polls,when elections were held after a gap of 11 years.
