BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has issued draft notifications for reservation of 1,129 zilla panchayat (ZP) seats and 3,656 taluk panchayat (TP) seats, with more than half of the seats in both local bodies reserved for women.
The notifications, issued by the RDPR Department on October 7, under Section 162 of the Karnataka Gram Swaraj and Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, specify category-wise reservations across the state’s 31 districts.
Of the 1,129 ZP seats, 571 have been reserved for women, while 1,905 of the 3,656 TP seats have been earmarked for women.
In the ZPs, 225 seats have been allocated to SCs, including 121 for women, and 102 to STs, including 59 for women. Backward Classes Category A has been allotted 183 seats, of which 98 are reserved for women, while Category B has 43 seats, including 25 for women. The general category accounts for 576 seats, with 268 reserved for women.
In the TPs, SCs have been allocated 733 seats, including 429 for women, while STs have been allotted 394 seats, of which 287 are reserved for women. Backward Classes Category A has 508 seats, including 306 for women, and Category B has 111 seats, with 64 reserved for women. The general category accounts for 1,910 seats, including 819 for women.
Meanwhile, Belagavi district has the highest allocation of ZP seats at 90, followed by Uttara Kannada with 53 and Kalaburagi with 48. In TPs, Belagavi again tops the list with 301 seats, followed by Tumakuru with 196 and Kalaburagi with 175.
The category-wise allocation is expected to determine the political contest for representation in rural local bodies ahead of the forthcoming elections.