Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the three tier Panchayat elections, the State Government Friday issued the final reservation list for the post of Zilla Parishad chairperson in all 30 districts across the State.
The Government has reserved 18 seats for various categories. As many as 10 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates while four seats are reserved for SC and four others for Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
As per the notification published by the Panchayati Raj department, the four districts reserved for OBCs are Angul, Nayagarh, Khordha and Sonepur.
The government has reserved the ZP chief post in Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur and Bhadrak districts for the SC category while ST persons to lead the ZPs in Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Koraput, Gajapati, Nabarangpur, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Rayagada, and Sundargarh districts.
Similarly, Zilla Parishad chief posts of 6 districts–Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Puri, Bolangir and Sambalpur have been put under unreserved category.
However, the notification did not mention anything on the reservation of the ZP chairperson seat for the districts of Kalahandi, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Nuapada, Bargarh and Boudh. Anyone can became the ZP chairperson in these districts, sources said
The total reservation has exceeded 50 per cent because of Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, 1996. Six Odisha districts—Mayurbhanj, Sundargarh, Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada and Nobarangpur fully covered under the PESA Act. So, the seats have been reserved for tribal candidates only. Out of the remaining 24 districts, 12 districts (50 per cent) reserved for different categories, the sources said.
Moreover, the State Government has reserved 50 per cent of all ZP chief posts for women candidates. The districts are—Angul, Cuttack, Kalahandi, Keonjhar, Koraput, Khurda, Gajapati, Ganjam, Dhenkanal, Nuapada, Bargarh, Boudh, Bhadrak, Malkangiri and Rayagada.Meanwhile, the State Election Commission (SEC) has called for an all-party meeting Saturday for the smooth conduct of the Panchayat elections in the state.
