We've legal direction to hold civic polls without delay: Puducherry SEC

The newly-appointed Puducherry state Election Commissioner (SEC) Roy P Thomas on Friday said the Supreme Court and the Territorial administration have directed the State Election Commission to get the local self-government immediately in place.

Thomas, appointed as the SEC by Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi on Wednesday, said in a press release here that "We have a legal direction to proceed with the election without any delay. There is no going back now." Civic polls are due in the Union Territory for last 10 years.

He said the office of the Lieutenant Governor has fulfilled "its responsibility and has played its legal role to ensure all this happens lawfully and rightly and appointed me as the SEC in Puducherry."

Thomas further said, "We now have to grasp this change quickly and get ready in identifying and choosing the right kind of candidates in the coming months so that we could ensure a prosperous Puducherry." He said the civic body elections are of crucial implication for the future governance of Puducherry.

As part of the immediate work to revive grassroots-level democracy, the Commission had issued a notification for appointment of district-level election officers, regional election officers and electoral registration officers setting the stage for action.

The SEC also said the elected representatives would be able to plan ahead and ensure due implementation of their programmes. "Women will form one-third of the grassroots-level leadership which is a paradigm shift in the governance of Puducherry," he said.

The SEC said Puducherry would abound with presence of women in planning and decision-making processes after the panchayat and local body polls.

The Local Administration Department, District and Rural Development Agency and District Collector need to work together to educate the people of the change likely to occur.

Thomas said women leadership of Puducherry would come to the forefront giving the Union Territory a unique place in self-governance.

"They can work to ensure every household is healthy and safe and use all welfare measures adequately. This will place local governance at proper functioning right from the beginning itself," he said.

The Supreme Court had in 2018 directed the Union Territory to hold the panchayat and municipal elections. Puducherry has two municipal councils while Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions have one municipality each. There are 10 commune panchayats (five each in Puducherry and Karaikal) besides 98 village panchayats in all the four regions.