Punjab: Legal opinion sought on holding municipal elections

Punjab: The Department of Local Bodies has sought legal opinion from the Advocate General (AG) office on issues related to holding elections to 42 municipal councils or nagar panchayats besides Amritsar, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Ludhiana and Patiala municipal corporations. The file related to the election schedule has also reportedly been sent to the CM for approval. Officials said that some clarifications were required from the AG office in view of the recent order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to start the process of holding municipal elections within 15 days without fresh delimitation of wards. “The court has stayed the delimitation in some cases, while the process is on in others. Delimitation boards have been constituted for 44 out of 47 municipalities. A detailed note has been sent to the state government for necessary action,” officials said. The term of the Phagwara Municipal Corporation ended in March 2020 and that of the other municipal corporations in 2023. As per rules, elections must be held within six months from the date of dissolution of the municipality.