Gurgaon civic body to submit delimitation report this week

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) will submit its delimitation report to the urban local bodies (ULB) for review on Wednesday.

If approved by ULB officials, the move will set the stage for the MCG elections, expected to be held early next year.

A three-member committee was set up earlier this year to prepare the delimitation report.

“We are submitting the report to the urban local bodies for review. Only minor alterations in ward size and territorial jurisdiction have been enforced. Upon approval, elections will be held at the earliest date,” Amit Khatri, additional commissioner, MCG, said.

The delimitation report says that the 35 wards will remain as they are and that these wards will be redrawn to eliminate logistical issues.

Earlier, the state government said that as per the 2011 census, the population of Gurgaon was less than 10 lakh and so the number of wards should be 32, and not 35, as it is at present

The report adds that the 35 wards will be redrawn to eliminate logistical issues. At the moment, the ward is not clearly demarcated, since a few wards overlap the two assembly constituencies, Gurgaon and Badshahpur. National highway-8 and railway lines also run through a single ward, as does certain sectors and villages, which then makes it part of two constituencies and wards.

The report states that the new wards will be demarcated by highways, railway lines and assembly constituencies.

The report has also recommended that the number of seats reserved for scheduled castes, other backward classes and women candidates will be the same as before. Six of the 35 wards are reserved for SC candidates, including two women candidates, and two for OBC candidates.

Additonally, the report states that 12 wards should be reserved for women candidates and the remaining 15 wards for the general category.

The committee members have opposed the delimitation notification, which reduced the total number of seats reserved for SC candidates down to three: One for women candidates, 11 for women overall and 16 wards for the general category.

In March, citing the 2011 census figures, the directorate of urban local bodies notified a primary delimitation order under Rule 3 of the Haryana Municipal Corporation Delimitation of Wards Rules for reorganising election wards of the MCG. This resulted in the corporation having 3 wards less. As per the ruling, cities with population less than 10 lakh and above 8 lakh are to be allotted 32 wards.

In 2011, when the first municipal elections were held, the MCG carried out a survey and found the population of the city to be 11.53 lakh. However, as per the 2011 census that was published later, the population of the city was 9.1 lakh.

In 2014, the delimitation process to divide the geographical area of Gurgaon into different constituencies for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections left residents confused regarding polling procedures, candidates and voting booths. The new report aims to address the gaps in the previous delimitation.