Team Herald
PANJIM: With less a month to go for the general panchayat elections, the State Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday notified reservation of wards for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities across 186 village panchayats.
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The panchayat elections are scheduled in Goa on August 10. With this, the OBC communities have heaved a sigh of relief as reservation of wards for them had earlier appeared uncertain with the Court dismissing the government’s request for more time to hold panchayat polls.
The State Election Commission had earlier notified reserved wards for candidates belonging to Scheduled Tribes (ST) and scheduled Castes (SC) communities and women last month.
As per the SEC, the reservation of OBC wards is in compliance with the Supreme Court mandated triple test guidelines.
On Tuesday, the State government had notified 19 communities as Backward Classes who have now been granted reservation for the panchayat polls. Earlier, on July 6, the government had submitted the report of the Goa state Commission for Backward Classes, with reservation of wards for OBCs.
The government had requested the Commission to consider the report and reserve the wards for OBCs without which it would cause great injustice to these communities as they would be deprived form representation in local bodies.
Meanwhile, the schedule for panchayat elections will now announced within a couple of days, it was informed.
