Parveen Arora
Karnal, December 17
With the tenure of the present House of 20 councillors and a Mayor of the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) coming to an end on January 4, the civic body has initiated the process of wardbandi — a process of delimitation or reorganisation of wards based on population, social composition and geographical area.
Ensuring fair representation
As per an official, wardbandi is done before the municipal elections to ensure fair representation of different sections of society. The committee members are expected to hold a meeting soon for wardbandi based on Parivar Pehchan Patra. The wardbandi committee will use the family IDs data to redraw the boundaries of the 20 wards, if required, keeping in mind the natural boundaries of the wards.
The process
Family IDs will be used for wardbandi to determine each ward's population and social composition. It will ensure that each ward has a similar number of voters. — Abhishek Meena, KMC Commissioner
An ad-hoc committee led by the Deputy Commissioner has been constituted to conduct the wardbandi exercise in accordance with the guidelines and rules laid down by the government. A notification of the ad-hoc committee has already been issued by the government.
The Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Urban Local Bodies, Vikas Gupta, has issued the order regarding the formation of the ad-hoc committee comprising Deputy Commissioner Anish Yadav as the chairman, Mayor Renu Bala Gupta, Director, Urban Local Bodies or his representative, the Commissioner, KMC, or his representative not below the rank of extra Assistant Commissioner as members. Five non-official members comprising Naveen Kumar, Mukesh Arora, Monika Garg, Yudhvir Saini and Rajni Parocha have also been included in the committee.
"DC Anish Yadav sent a list of the members of the ad-hoc committee to the headquarters, the notification of which has been issued by the government," said Abhishek Meena, Commissioner, KMC.
As per an official, wardbandi is done before the municipal elections to ensure fair representation of different sections of society. The committee members are expected to hold a meeting soon for wardbandi based on Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP). The wardbandi committee will use the family IDs data to redraw the boundaries of the 20 wards if required, keeping in mind the natural boundaries of the wards.
"The family IDs will also be used for the wardbandi process to determine each ward's population and social composition. It will ensure that each ward has a similar number of voters," the Commissioner asserted.
Meanwhile, the formation the ad-hoc committee for wardbandi has triggered political activities among aspirants of different parties for the upcoming municipal elections. The aspirants for the post of Mayor and councillors from different wards have begun working towards strengthening their chances for the ticket. Some of the activities include meetings, social media outreach, posting posters, banners, etc.
The aspirants are also trying to highlight their achievements, promises and agendas for the development of their respective wards and the city. They are also keeping a close watch on the wardbandi process as it may affect their prospects and strategies. The wardbandi process is expected to be completed in a couple of months.