4 months on,Panchkula MC still without chief

The main reason for the delay is delimitation of the wards.

Section 6 of the Haryana MC Act,1994,implies that the total number of seats will be fixed by the government on the basis of latest census figures. Also,according to Haryana MC Delimitation of Ward Rules,1994,delimitation of wards has to be done keeping in view the latest census. Therefore,the district would have to wait for 2010 census report which is expected to be ready by next year.

Another factor that is troubling the former councillors and which could also prevent an early election is the latest ordinance issued by the Governor in case of Gurgaon MC. Sources claim that the government has modified the MC Act,1994,by extending the time period of holding the MC elections to two and a half years. According to Section 4 of the Act,the first election of the MC may be held within six months from the date of the constitution. “Gurgaon MC was formed in June 2008 and the time limit for elections was extended from six months to one year. Now it has been changed to more than two years. We fear that the same ordinance would govern the township as well,which means that there would be a delay of more than two years,” said a former councillor.

Meanwhile,senior officials in the administration,including the deputy commissioner remain clueless about the elections. They rue that the state government “acted in haste” to change the municipal council into a corporation without thinking of the elections,putting the township’s development is at stake. “We want that the administration to hold the elections as early as possible,according to the new census. The officials need to speed up the process for the sake of development,” said former MC president Ravinder Rawal.