NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Karnataka government to publish ward-wise reservation list to facilitate State Election Commission for initiating constitution of local bodies within a reasonable time frame.
A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar asked that Karnataka government to publish ward-wise reservation list to facilitate the State Election Commission to initiate appropriate steps for initiating the constitution of local bodies within a reasonable time frame in accordance with the Bruhut Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act, 2020, and constitutional parameters.
The court said that the said exercise should be done within one week from now. The court was hearing the plea seeking to conduct BBMP polls.
Earlier the court was apprised of the BBMP Act, 2020, which has come into effect from January 11, 2021, and consequent to that, the government has appointed a Commission for delimitation of wards and a dedicated Commission for providing reservation, including for Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.
The top court, on May 20, accepted the assurance given on behalf of the state and directed that necessary notifications regarding delimitation of wards or be it for determining reservation percentage for the newly constituted corporation, be completed and notified.
The court had directed that the Karnataka State Election Commission shall thereafter commence the preparatory exercise of conducting elections to install the newly elected body of the BBMP under the 2020 Act.
The court had said that the State Election Commission can commence that exercise within one week from the date of notification of delimitation of wards and/or determination of reservation to be provided for the OBC category on the basis of the recommendation made by the dedicated commission, whichever is later.
Earlier, the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Amendment had raised the number of wards in Bengaluru city from 198 to 243. (ANI)