New Delhi: Each assembly constituency in Delhi will be divided into a minimum of three wards during the delimitation exercise to be carried out in the national capital before the municipal polls are conducted, according to an official statement.
Officials said the estimated population in each ward after the delimitation is likely to be between 65,000 and 67,000.
The three erstwhile municipal corporations in Delhi comprised 272 wards – 104 each in the North and South corporations, and 64 in the East. According to civic officials, on average there used to be four wards in each assembly constituency earlier.
Delimitation Committee Chairman Vijay Dev said the process of delimitation of 250 wards in Delhi has been undertaken based on the 2011 census data.
"Each Assembly constituency shall be divided into a minimum of three wards. The boundary of a ward in the corporation shall be carved within the boundary of the relevant Member of Legislative Assembly constituency and shall not cross it," the panel said in a statement after a meeting with key stakeholders on Thursday.
Directorate of Census Operations, Geospatial Delhi Ltd (GSDL), Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the revenue department of the Delhi government.
"Population (based on 2011 census) of each ward in the corporation shall, so far as practicable, be the same throughout the area of the corporation with a variation of plus/minus 10 per cent. All the wards shall be geographically compact areas," the statement said.
The Directorate of Census Operations has provided data in respect of Enumeration Block) based on the Census 2011 data. Since GSDL has a specialisation in geo-mapping, it is being engaged by the committee for the delimitation work, it said.
The GSDL also worked during the delimitation exercise of municipal wards during 2016-17. It is preparing data along with digital maps of the Enumeration Blocks in each ward and assembly constituency.
The statement said the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi, has provided the latest electoral rolls along with a constituency-wise list of polling stations in the city and soft copies of maps of assembly constituencies.
The committee also said it will be ensured that all voters are included in the newly delimited wards and they face no inconvenience in casting votes in MCD elections to be held after the delimitation of wards.
Once the draft delimitation order is prepared, it will be published in the public domain giving ample time and fair opportunity to all stakeholders, including the public, to provide their suggestions and objections which shall be given due consideration by the panel before finalisation of the wards, the statement said.
The Centre had earlier this month set up a three-member panel for a delimitation of the municipal wards in Delhi that will pave the way for the first civic polls since the reunification of the city's three corporations.
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