Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has issued a fresh timetable to redraw ward boundaries and reserve seats across municipal bodies, stepping up preparations for urban elections scheduled early next year. City& Local GuidesThe Housing and Urban Development (HUD) department sent the revised dates to all district collectors, making several changes to the earlier schedule so officials and residents have clear deadlines to raise and resolve objections. The entire exercise will wrap up on October 31 with the release of the final notification.The state has set up two distinct tracks to handle the work: one for the four major municipal corporations—Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Berhampur, and Rourkela—and another for the remaining municipalities and Notified Area Councils (NACs).For the four big municipal corporations, commissioners must send their delimitation details to the HUD department by September 24. These submissions must include filled-out Form-I and Form-II documents, council resolutions, and sketch maps showing the proposed ward borders.The department will then publish a draft notification for these four cities on October 5. Residents and local groups will have until October 14 to submit suggestions or file objections.For smaller towns and urban local bodies managed at the district level, the timeline runs as follows:September 24: District collectors publish the draft notice on ward boundaries and seat reservations, opening the process to public comments.October 3: Final day for the public to submit suggestions or objections to district officials. October 7: Collector’s issue the preliminary notification. This opens a window to file appeals before the HUD department, running through October 21.October 22: Collectors must send all received appeals, along with their own comments and recommendations, to the Director of Municipal Administration via a special messenger.October 26–28: The state government, acting as the appeal authority, hears cases and decides on final ward lines and quotas.October 31: District collectors publish the final, official list of ward borders and seat reservations.Once the final notifications are out on October 31, officials will send copies to the State Election Commission, the state government, and each individual municipality and NAC.The HUD department instructed all district collectors and municipal commissioners to submit every required document on time, directing field teams to stick strictly to the calendar so the entire process runs smoothly.
Odisha Urban Polls: Govt Issues Revised Delimitation Schedule
