The government on Wednesday made an appeal in the High Court of Madras seeking an additional time of five months to conduct the local body elections in the Union territory. The deadline that was set by the HC for conducting the polls ended on Wednesday.
The additional time has been sought in view of the list of measures undertaken to conduct the elections, Special Secretary and Director Local Administration Department S Sundaravadivelu told Express.
A PIL was filed by CPM secretary V Perumal in the HC after the term of the local bodies ended on July 13, 2010. The court then directed the Puducherry government to conduct the elections within six months.
The government, however, missed the deadline and sought another six months citing the difficulties posed by cyclone Thane. The HC while granting the additional time also directed the government to appoint a state election commissioner immediately. The post had been lying vacant since 2007.
While the government appointed Uddipta Ray as the state election commissioner on May 31, the elections were not conducted.
The process has been initiated but a lot of preparatory work goes into conducting the elections. Electoral rolls have to be revised. After the summary revision which is in progress, final electoral rolls would be published on October 5, said Uddipta Ray.
The government requires time to purchase new EVMs that can cater to multi-post elections. EVMs used for Assembly elections are not suitable, added Ray.
The civic polls were last conducted in 2006 after a gap of 38 years, following a court order. Puducherry has two municipal councils while Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam have one each. There are 10 commune panchayats and 98 village panchayats in Puducherry and Karaikal regions.
The state election commission has sought Rs 9 crore from the government for the purpose of conducting the polls.
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