Ordinance for Amendment in Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 and Haryana Municipal Act, 1973

• 10 May 2023

Why in News?

On 9 May 2023, in the cabinet meeting chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal, the ordinance to amend the Haryana Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 and the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973 was approved.

Key Points:

• These ordinances will be called the Haryana Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023.
• According to the amendment, seats will be reserved for backward class 'A' in each municipality and the number of reserved seats will be as much as possible.
• In case the ratio of backward class 'A' population to the total population of that municipality is 0.5 or more in the same proportion as the total number of seats in the municipality, it is rounded off to the next higher integer.
• Excluding the seats already reserved for Scheduled Castes, such seats shall be allotted by a draw of lots from a maximum of three times the number of seats proposed for the reservation to Backward Class 'A' having the highest percentage of the population of Backward Class 'A' and will be allotted on rotation in the subsequent elections also.
• In the Cabinet meeting held on 8 May, the Council of Ministers approved a proposal to accept the recommendations of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission for the provision of the proportion of reservation for Backward Class-A in contesting municipal elections.
• Since the State Legislative Assembly is not in session and the elections to the Urban Local Bodies are to be held at the earliest, therefore, according to the recommendations of the Haryana Backward Classes Commission, provision has been made in Section 6 & Section 11 of the Act, 1994 and Section 10 of the Act, 1973, there is a need to bring an ordinance for the provision of reservation for Backward Class-A in the elections of Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils/Committees.