SAMBALPUR: Twelve years after the formation of Sambalpur Municipal Corporation (SMC), the long-pending civic election continues to remain uncertain.
Even after the Orissa High Court directed the state government to publish an election notification based on revised reservation norms, the six-week deadline has now elapsed.
In its order on September 3, the high court had quashed the 2015 government notification on ward re-organisation, observing that the reservation exceeded the 50 per cent limit prescribed by law. It instructed the state government to issue a fresh notification within six weeks and conduct election accordingly.
However, despite the expiry of the stipulated period, no official notification has been released, leaving residents of Sambalpur, Burla and Hirakud disappointed.
The Sambalpur municipal body was granted corporation status in September 2013, merging Hirakud NAC and five gram panchayats from Maneswar block along with nine from Dhankauda block. In 2015, the government issued a notification for the first SMC election. But legal challenges emerged after a Burla resident filed a petition in the high court, arguing that the reservation structure violated the 50 per cent cap.
According to the 2015 notification, out of 41 wards, 21 were reserved for women candidates including 12 for backward classes, six for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes and three for women belonging to these categories. The excessive reservation percentage led to the HC intervention and subsequent suspension of the election process.
Now, the long delay has left Sambalpur in an peculiar position, a municipal corporation that never had an elected council. The absence of civic polls has not only affected urban areas but also the 51 villages merged into the corporation which have had neither panchayat representatives nor municipal councillors since their inclusion.
Locals in these areas say they feel neglected, caught between the loss of panchayat structures and the absence of a functioning corporation council.
After the court’s recent directive to rectify the irregularities and issue a new notification, hopes were rekindled among the citizens who expected that the administrative dominance would end and elected representatives would take charge. Later in the month, the district unit of Congress also demanded immediate elections citing corruption and poor civic services in the city.
However, with the six-week period now over and no move from the government, frustration is mounting among residents, many of whom have accused the authorities of disregarding judicial orders.
