Telangana Cabinet sets December timeline to hold gram panchayat elections

HYDERABAD: The state Cabinet has decided to hold gram panchayat elections in December. Officials have been instructed to complete all arrangements within the month.

Briefing reporters on the decisions taken during Monday’s Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, I&PR Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy said 42% reservations for BCs in gram panchayat polls would be provided on a party basis. He said the Cabinet adopted a resolution to conduct gram panchayat polls first.

Srinivasa Reddy said a decision on ZPTC, MPTC and municipal corporation elections would be taken after the conclusion of court cases concerning 42% BC reservations. He recalled that the High Court had stayed GO 9, which proposed 42% reservations in local bodies, and pointed out that the state government challenged the stay in the Supreme Court, but “no relief came”.

The minister added that the Union government had not cooperated with the state’s effort to implement the quota. “Due to the delay in elections, around Rs 3,000 crore may lapse by the end of the financial year. Therefore, the Cabinet decided to conduct gram panchayat elections first,” Srinivasa Reddy said.

To conduct the elections now, the state government will have to obtain from the dedicated commission a reservations list that stays within the 50% ceiling.

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The Cabinet decided to seek a report from the commission on the number of reservations for gram panchayat sarpanch and ward members. It instructed that the process be completed within a week and placed before the Cabinet for approval.