Move to redefine boundaries of 17 ZP wards in Solan dist initiated

Move to redefine the boundaries of 17 wards of zila parishad in Solan district by undertaking delimitation has left several residents disappointed as they have been shifted to distantly located wards.

In view of the impending elections to the Zila Parishad slated to take place later this year, the delimitation process has been initiated to redefine the boundaries of all wards. People have been granted a week’s time to file their objections.

Solan Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma issued a notification in this regard following Rule 9 of Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Election Rules, 1994 and other necessary rules last evening.

The notification is available in the concerned Gram Sabha headquarters, including Deputy Commissioner""s Office, Solan, and Panchayat Samiti Office, Solan, Kandaghat, Dharampur, Kunihar, Patta and Nalagarh.

The process to redefine the boundaries of some wards has not gone well with the public.

The BJP had won seven seats, while Congress-backed candidates could bag only three seats. Seven seats had been won by independent candidates in the last election held in 2020. Several changes have been made in various wards. For instance, panchayats like Garkhal Sanawar, Kasauli Garkhal have been included in Taksal ward from the earlier Dharampur ward. While Dharampur lies in the proximity of these panchayats, Taksal was near Parwanoo and located at a distance of nearly 25 km. Residents of the two affected panchayats said that it was unfair to shift them to a distant ward without any rhyme and reason. They asked how this lopsided change would help in administrative ease. Rather, they said it would inconvenience the residents.

The delimitation is carried out to ensure fair representation while considering factors like population, geographic boundaries and administrative convenience. Following this, a fresh reservation of wards will be undertaken by the state election commission.

Deputy Commissioner Solan Manmohan Sharma, when quizzed, said proposals have been received from block development officers of respective blocks and the process will be finalised after scrutinising the objections filed by the citizens.

The district has 240 panchayats spread across six developmental blocks of Solan, Nalagarh, Kunihar, Dharampur, Kandaghat and Patta.

Himachal Tribune