The Odisha government initiates ward delimitation and seat reservation for upcoming ULB polls, with final notifications scheduled for October 31
OdishaPlus Bureau
With municipal corporation and urban local body (ULB) elections scheduled for early next year, the Odisha government has begun the process of ward delimitation and reservation of seats across urban areas. The final notification on the redetermined wards and reserved seats will be published on October 31.
According to the schedule issued by the Housing and Urban Development Department, the four municipal corporations—Bhubaneswar, Kataka, Brahmapur, and Raurkela—have been asked to submit details of ward delimitation and seat reservation, along with sketch maps showing ward boundaries and the relevant resolutions, by September 24.
The department will publish the draft notification on the proposed redetermination of ward boundaries and reservation of seats on October 5. Citizens will be invited to submit objections and suggestions, with October 14 being the last date.
For municipalities and newly constituted NACs, district Collectors will publish the draft notification on ward delimitation and seat reservation on September 24. The deadline for filing objections and suggestions will be October 3.
The Collectors will subsequently issue the preliminary notification on October 7. Appeals against the preliminary notification can be filed before the Housing and Urban Development Department between October 7 and October 21.
The state government will act as the appellate authority. It will hear the appeals and take final decisions between October 26 and October 28.
Following the disposal of the appeals, the final notification on ward boundaries and seat reservation will be issued on October 31.
The exercise assumes significance as Odisha prepares for the next round of urban local-body elections. The delimitation process will determine the geographical boundaries of individual wards, while the reservation exercise will decide the categories for which seats will be reserved in the forthcoming polls.
When the Census, 2026 is on and the preliminary work by the ground level enumerators is reported to have started how the State Government in Housing and Urban Development Department has issued notification for delimitation of wards and reservation of seats in ULBs w.e.f. October 7 is difficult to understand. There is possibility that this may raise some legal complications . It would have been better if the ULB delimitation of wards and reservation of seats would have been deferred to after the Census is published.