HYDERABAD: Telangana State High Court has directed the State government to respond to the petition filed seeking directions to the authorities concerned to conduct elections to the municipal corporations and municipalities in the State by providing reservations to backward classes as per provisions of the TS Municipalities Act, 1965 and TS Municipal Corporation Act, 1994.
The order was passed on Friday, after a plea filed by the Telangana State Backward Classes Welfare Association, represented by its State president.
Petitioner’s counsel Dharmesh Jaiswal submitted that as per Article 243U (3) it is mandatory to conduct elections to the municipalities before the expiry of its five-year term.
Standing counsel for State Election Commission (SEC) Vidyasagar told the court that though the commission was ready to hold elections to the said urban local bodies, it could not go ahead since the Telangana State government has not yet completed preparation of electoral rolls for municipalities and municipal corporations duly indicating the delimitation of wards, publishing ward-wise electoral rolls and finalization of reservations for BCs and so on.