Gram panchayat polls on time, Quota proposals to EC by June 25: Jupally

Panchayat Raj Minister Jupally Krishna Rao today stated the details of reservations in villages ward wise for conducting Panchayat Raj elections in the State are getting ready and will be submitted to the State Election Commission by June 25. The Election Commission will decide the date for the village panchayat elections based on the reservation proposals.

Speaking to mediapersons at the Secretariat here today, the minister said the State government will coordinate with the departments for smooth and fair conduct of the elections. The details of the reservations will be finalized once the staffers involved in the job get through the works, he said. Reservations category wise are BCs 34 per cent, SC 20, ST 6 and women get a total of 50 per cent altogether, the minister maintained.

Referring to Tribal Population areas (including Forest) all the seats have been reserved for Scheduled Tribes and there was no chance for delay in the village panchayat elections, he clarified. Krishana Rao maintained that the New Panchayat Raj Bill will prove handy for rural development as it helps in developing the villages on par with the cities.

He said the reservations for BCs were finalized and the elections will be conducted for 4,000 new Gram Panchayats. He also said the government will conduct training to the elected representatives for three months after the elections to develop villages. (NSS)