VIJAYAWADA: The conduct of local body elections in Andhra Pradesh has hit a roadblock, with the Supreme Court stating that the share of reservations cannot exceed 50 per cent.
Government Order (GO) 176, which fixed reservations at 59.85 per cent, was on Wednesday stayed by the court till the disposal of a writ petition filed against the fixing of the percentage of reservation. The apex court told the AP High Court to decide on the matter within four weeks from January 20.
The State Election Commission was set to announce the notification for the conduct of the polls to MPTCs and ZPTCs on Friday.
In the GO issued on January 28, 2019, the State government fixed 59.85 per cent as the share of reservation, including 34 per cent for BCs, 19.08 per cent for SCs, and 6.77 per cent for STs.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice SA Bobde, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant issued these directions while dealing with a PIL filed by one Birru Prathap Reddy, challenging the AP government’s move fixing 59.85 per cent reservation for local bodies (panchayats, mandal parishads and zilla parishads) on the grounds that it is against the Supreme Court’s judgment that the percentage of reservation cannot exceed 50 per cent.