HC notice to govt on plea seeking reserved wards for Margao civic polls | Goa News

Panaji: Bombay high court on Monday issued notice to state govt in a petition seeking directions to release the list of reserved wards for the upcoming Margao municipal elections, which are expected to be held in May.Councillor Nimesia Faleiro filed a petition stating that till date there is no clarity regarding which of the wards/seats will be reserved for which category.The uncertainty makes it difficult for candidates such as herself to prepare for the elections, and she apprehends that govt will wait till the very last moment to publish the order declaring reservation of wards, she said.Senior advocate Nitin Sardessai, with Siddharth Nunes representing Faleiro, told the high court during the hearing on Monday that the high court (in the context of zilla panchayat elections) in 2021 observed that the list of reserved wards must be declared at least eight weeks prior to the date of notification of the elections.However, in 2021, the state legislature amended the Municipalities Act to permit the authority to release the list of reserved seats as late as just one week prior to the date of municipal elections, which Faleiro has challenged.A further amendment of the Municipalities Act in 2022 provides that the process of delimitation and reservation is to be carried out by the state election commission in consultation with govt.Nimesia said that the “consultation with govt” will necessarily mean that the party in power and its candidates will be informed of the list of reserved seats well in advance and has challenged this, thereby putting those candidates at an undue advantage over the others.