New Year to begin with Panchayat Elections in Haryana

New Year to begin with Panchayat Elections

SIRSA NEWS 

( www.SirsaNews.com )

16 December, 2015

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Below are the contents in verbatim from the Press Release of STATE ELECTION COMMISSION, HARYANA about PANCHAYAT GENERAL ELECTIONS to be held in three phases in January 2016

Panchkula, the 15^th December, 2015: Sh. Rajeev Sharma, State Election Commissioner, Haryana stated that in view of the orders dated 22.09.2015 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 671 of 2015 (Rajbala & Ors. Vs. State of Haryana & Ors.), the State Election Commission, Haryana had put on hold all the activities pursuant to its notification dated 8th September, 2015 and all other notifications/orders issued subsequently in this connection till further orders. It was also ordered that the nomination papers received in respect of Zila Parishads and for the first phase elections of Panches, Sarpanches and member Panchayat Samitis, be kept intact in the office of Returning Officer for Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti concerned and in the case of Gram Panchayats nomination papers shall be kept intact in the office of Block Development and Panchayat Officer concerned till further orders.

2.                          Sh. Sharma further stated that now the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has dismissed the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 671 of 2015 vide order dated 10.12.2015. As such, the State Election Commission, Haryana has today issued the programme for the conduct of 5th Panchayat General Election of Panches, Sarpanches of Gram anchayats (except for Gram Panchayat Chhachhraulli, Radhur, Sadhura of district Yamuna Nagar, Sudhiwas, Tosham of district Bhiwani, Chandu, Budedha, Wazirpur of district Gurgaon, Nissing

(Rural) of district Karnal, Berwal Nandla of district Panchkula, Jakhal Mandi of district Fatehabad, Hassanpur of district Palwal, Samalkha of district Kurukshetra and Firozepur Jhirka (Rural) of district Mewat) and members of all Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads. The elections will be held on three phases i.e. on 10.01.2016, 17.01.2016 and 24.01.2016. The Election programme for elections to different posts of the Panchayati Raj Institutions is as under:

TIME SCHEDULE

Sr.	Programme			1st  Phase		2nd  Phase		3rd  Phase
No.
1.	Date on which notice shall be			17.12.2015		23.12.2015		30.12.2015
	published	by	the    District
	Election Officer		(Panchayat) in
	Form 2 or 3, as the case may
	be,   for	inviting   nominations
	under  rule  24  of  the  Haryana
	Panchayati Raj Election Rules,
	1994.
2.	Dates on which Nomination			23.12.2015		30.12.2015		05.01.2016
	papers shall be presented			to		to		to
	under Rule 24(2)(i).			29.12.2015		04.01.2016		09.01.2016
				(10.00 A.M to		(10.00 A.M to		(10.00 A.M to
				3.00 P.M.)		3.00 P.M.)		3.00 P.M.)
3.	Dates on which the list of			23.12.2015		30.12.2015		05.01.2016
	Nomination papers received			to		to		to
	shall be pasted		under Rule	29.12.2015		04.01.2016		09.01.2016
	24(2) (ii).
4.	Date by which			23.12.2015		30.12.2015		05.01.2016
	Affidavit/declaration shall be			to		to		to
	furnished by the candidate in			29.12.2015		04.01.2016		09.01.2016
	Form 4-A & 4-B to the
	concerned Returning Officer.
	(Rule 27).
5.	Date on which the nomination			30.12.2015		05.01.2016		11.01.2016
	papers shall be scrutinized			(10.00 A.M.		(10.00 A.M.		(10.00 A.M.
	under Rule 24(2)(iii).			onwards)		onwards)		onwards)
6.	Last date for withdrawal of			01.01.2016		07.01.2016		13.01.2016
	candidature by a candidate				(upto 3.00		(upto 3.00	(upto 3.00
	under Rule 24(2)(iv).				P.M.)		P.M.)	P.M.)
7.	Date on which symbols shall be			01.01.2016		07.01.2016		13.01.2016
	allotted to the contesting			(after 3.00 PM)			(after 3.00	(after 3.00
	candidates.						PM)	PM)
8.	Date on which the list of			01.01.2016		07.01.2016		13.01.2016
	contesting candidates shall be			(immediately			(immediately	(immediately
	pasted under Rule 24(2)(v).				after the		after the	after the
				allotment of			allotment of	allotment of
					symbols)		symbols)	symbols)
9.	Date on which the poll, if any,			10.01.2016		17.01.2016		24.01.2016
	shall be held under Rule			(Sunday)			(Sunday)	(Sunday)
	24(2)(vi).
10.	Timing of the poll.				Between		Between	Between
				7.30 A.M.			7.30 A.M.	7.30 A.M.
					to		to	to
				4.00 P.M.			4.00 P.M.	4.00 P.M.
11.	Counting of votes.			i).	Panches		and	Sarpanches
				immediately			after the close of poll.
				ii) Member Panchayat Samiti and Zila
				Parishad on 28.01.2016 at 8.00 A.M at
				the place specified by the concerned
				District Election Officer (P).
				iii)  In  case  of  repoll  of  Member
				Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishads,
				the Commission may change the date
				and time of counting of votes.

3. He further stated that the time schedule for the election of the seats of Panches, Sarpanches and Member Panchayat Samitis shall remain phase wise, so that contesting candidates may avail almost equal time for campaigning. But, in the case of election of the seat of Member Zila Parishad, phase wise time schedule is not possible as the jurisdiction of several wards of Zila Parishads falls within the jurisdiction of two or more than two blocks. As such, the date for the publication of notice, receipt of nomination, scrutiny, symbol allotment etc. for the contesting candidates, contesting the election of the seat of Member Zila Parishad shall remain same as mentioned in the schedule of first phase, but their block wise election shall be held on 10.01.2016, 17.01.2016 and 24.01.2016.

4. The State Election Commissioner, Haryana further added that the blocks to be included in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd phase shall be as under:-

Sr.	District	Blocks		Blocks	Blocks
No.		1st Phase		2nd Phase	3rd Phase
1.	Ambala	1.Barara		1.Ambala-I	1.Shahzadpur
		2.Saha		2.Ambala-II	2.Naraingarh
2.	Bhiwani	1.Bhiwani		1.Tosham	1.Dadri-II
		2.Dadri-I		2.Siwani	2.Loharu
		3.Badhra		3.Bawani Khera	3.Kairu
					4.Behal
3.	Faridabad	1.Faridabad		---	---
		2.Ballabgarh
4.	Fatehabad	1. Fatehabad		1. Bhuna	1.Ratia
		2.Tohana		2. Bhattu kalan	2.Jakhal
5.	Gurgaon	1.Gurgaon		1.Pataudi	---
		2.Sohna		2.Farukhnagar
6.	Hisar	1.Hisar-I		1.Hansi-I	1.Adampur
		2.Hisar-II		2.Hansi-II	2.Uklana
		3.Narnaund		3.Barwala	3.Agroha
7.	Jind	1.Jind		1.Narwana	1.Julana
		2.Safidon		2.Uchana	2.Alewa
					3. Pillukhera
8.	Jhajjar	1.Jhajjar		1.Beri	--
		2.Bahadurgarh		2.Matanhail
				3.Salhawas
9.	Karnal	1.Assandh		1.Gharaunda	1.Karnal
		2.Indri		2.Nissing	2. Nilokheri
10.	Kaithal	1.Guhla		1.Pundri	1. Siwan
		2. Kaithal		2.Rajound	2. Kalayat
11.	Kurukshetra	1.Thanesar		1.Ismailabad	1.Ladwa
		2.Pehowa		2.Shahabad	2.Babain
12.	M. at Narnaul	1.Ateli Nangal		1.Narnaul	1.Nizampur
		2.Kanina		2.Satnail	2.Nangal
		3.Sihma		3.Mahendergarh	Choudhary
13.	Mewat at Nuh	1.Punhana		1. Nagina	1. Nuh
				2. Firozepur	2. Tauru
				Jhirka
14.	Panipat	1.Panipat		1.Madlauda	1.Bapouli
		2.Israna		2.Samalkha	2.Sanouli Khurd
15.	Panchkula	1.Pinjore		1.Barwala	-----
		2.Morni		2.Raipur Rani
16.	Palwal	1.Palwal		1.Hassanpur	----
		2.Prithla		2.Hathin
		3.Hodal
17.	Rohtak	1.Rohtak		1.Meham	Kalanaur
		2.Sampla		2.Lakhanmajra
18.	Rewari	1.Rewari		1.Nahar	1. Jatusana
		2.Bawal		2.Khol
19.	Sirsa	1.Baragudha		1.Rania	1.Nathusari
		2.Dabwali		2.Ellenabad	Chopta
		3.Odhan			2.Sirsa
20.	Sonipat	1.Sonipat		1.Gohana	1.Ganaur
		2.Kharkhoda		2.Khathura	2.Murthal
		3.Mundlana			3.Rai
21.	Yamunanagar	1.Chhachhrauli		1.Sadhaura	1.Radaur
		2.Jagadhri		2.Bilaspur	2.Mustafabad

5. He further stated that the candidates who have already filed the nominations as per the amendment made by the Govt. vide Notification No. Leg.15/2015 dated 7^th September, 2015 need not to file fresh nominations, but have to file a fresh declaration/affidavit in Form 4-B along with required documents before the Returning Officer concerned during the period specified for the same.

6. He further stated that according to the above mentioned programme, the nomination for the seats of Panches, Sarpanches will be received at village Headquarter, Members of Panchayat Samitis shall be received at Block Headquarters and that of Zila Parishads at the District Headquarter. The scrutiny of the nomination papers shall be taken up by the Returning Officers.

7. He further stated that a candidate filing the nomination paper for contesting the election of the seat of Panch/Sarpanch/Member Panchayat Samiti/ Zila Parishad shall have to deposit an amount in Government Treasury or Sub Treasury or with the Returning Officer (Panchayat) in cash, as under, as the case may be:-

Seat	General	SC/BC
Panch	Rs.100/-	Rs.40/-
Sarpanch	Rs.200/-	Rs.100/-
Member Panchayat	Rs.300/-	Rs.150/-
Samiti
Member Zila	Rs.400/-	Rs.200/-
Parishad

8. He further stated that the counting of votes for the Panches and Sarpanches will be taken up on the same day at the polling stations itself, whereas the counting of votes for election to the offices of Members Panchayat Samitis and Zila Parishads would be taken up on 28.01.2016 at the place specified by the concerned District Election Officer (P).

9. He further stated that the expenditure limit of the expenditure to be incurred by a contesting candidate or his authorized election agent has been increased as under:-

Sr. No.	Post	Previous	Current
		Expenditure Limit	Expenditure Limit
1.	Panch(Member of Gram	Rs. 5,000	Rs.	10,000
	Panchayat)
2.(a)	Sarpanch of Gram	Rs. 15,000	Rs.	30,000
	Panchayat having upto 15
	Wards.
(b)	Sarpanch of Gram	Rs. 25,000	Rs.	50,000
	Panchayat having more
	than 15 Wards
3.	Member of Panchayat	Rs. 50,000	Rs. 1,00,000
	Samiti
4.	Member of Zila Parishad	Rs. 1,00,000	Rs. 2,00,000

10. He further stated that a contesting candidate shall have to maintain account of election expenditure and submit the same within 30 days from the date of declaration of the result to the District Election Officer (Panchayat) or any other officer specified by the Commission, in the manner prescribed by the State Election Commission, failing which the defaulting candidate shall be liable to be disqualified under the Haryana Panchayati Raj

Election Expenditure (Maintenance & Submission of the Accounts) Order, 1996 for 3 years from the date of issue of such order.

11. He further stated that the election of the seats of Sarpanches and Member Zila Parishad in all the districts would be conducted by the use of EVMs; the election of Members of Panchayat Samiti in districts Panchkula and Rewari shall also be conducted by use of EVMs, for which approximately 45,000 EVMs of single post; and 1300 CUs and 2600 BUs of multi post EVMs would be used. The multi post EVMs shall only be used in Panchkula and Rewari districts. The elections of remaining seats of Panches and Member Panchayat Samitis would be conducted by the use of ballot papers and for this purpose approximately 45,000 ballot boxes would be used.

12. He further stated that there are 6,198 Gram Panchayats, 126 Panchayat Samities and 21 Zila Parishads in the State and the election of these Institutions is to be conducted in three phases. In 1^st phase election there are 47 Blocks and 8,981 polling booths out of which 1,702 are sensitive and 1,801 hyper sensitive. 46,59,922 voters ( Male 25,05,710 + 21,54,212 Female) will franchise their right to vote. For this purpose approximately 44,994 polling personal, 522 Supervisory Staff and 439 Duty Magistrates will be put on duty. In 2^nd phase there are 44 Blocks and 7,412 polling booths out of which 1,314 are sensitive and 1,527 hyper sensitive. 37,14,364 voters (19,97,711 Male +17,16,653 Female) will franchise their right to vote. For this purpose approximately 37,174 polling personal, 431 Supervisory Staff and 372 Duty Magistrates will be put on duty. In 3^rd phase election there are 35 Blocks and 5,082 polling booths out of which 1,143 are sensitive and 1,009 hyper sensitive. 26,35,031 voters (14,01,275 Male + 12,33,756 Female) will franchise their right to vote. For this purpose approximately 25,507 polling personal, 303 Supervisory Staff and 254 Duty Magistrates will be put on duty. The district wise detail of the data is given in annexure “A”.

13. He further stated that the Model Code of Conduct in respect of the Panchayat Elections has come into force from today i.e.15.12.2015 with the announcement of the schedule in the area of Panchayati Raj Institutions where the poll is to be conducted. According to the guidelines of model code of

conduct no party or candidate shall indulge in any activity which may cause differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic. There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. The right of every individual for peaceful and undisturbed home life shall be respected. All parties and candidates shall avoid scrupulously all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offences under the election law, such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters, canvassing within 100 meters of polling stations, holding public meetings during the 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll and transport and conveyance of voters to and from polling station etc. All the political parties, contesting candidates and Government employees must follow the model code of conduct meticulously to conduct free, fair and peaceful PRI elections in the State. No Officer/Official connected with the election work shall be transferred till the completion of election process besides adhering to other requirements of Model Code of Conduct with the announcement of this schedule for elections, he added.

14. He further stated that the directions are being issued to all the District Election Officers (Panchayat) to give the widest possible publicity to the above programme by munadi in villages, issue of press notes and other handouts and also by inserting paid advertisements in the two local news papers and making publicity through electronic media, so that more and more people may come to cast their vote and elect the members of Panchayati Raj Institutions for strengthening the democracy at grass root level.

15. Paid News: Sh. Sharma informed that State Election Commission is cautious of the role of media in democracy and it’s further strengthening and made a request to the media- print as well as electronic to render their help and co-operation by refraining from allowing any undue publicity to a candidate in lieu of money or any other consideration. He emphasized that the Commission is aware of the menace of paid news and thus solicits the help and co-operation of media which is the best way to tackle it.

16. He further stated that State Election Commission will appoint Election Observers in each district to ensure smooth conduct of elections. The

Observers will be asked to keep a close watch on every stage of electoral process to ensure free and fair elections. The Election Observers have to visit the district assigned at least four times, review necessary arrangements for the conduct of free, fair and peaceful elections, hold meetings with the D.C, R.O, S.S.P, D.S.P & other officers to review law and order situation and keep check on the complaints received by D.C, R.O, S.S.P, D.S.P etc.

17. He further stated that for the purpose of effective monitoring of the election expenditure of the candidates Election Expenditure Observers shall also be appointed in each district. Expenditure Observers shall have to keep close watch on the misuse of money power and suggest remedial action to prevent the evil practice.

18. He further stated that videography of sensitive or hyper sensitive polling stations will be got done, if required.

19. He further stated that the conduct of elections involves elaborate security management. It includes ensuring the security of polling personnel, security at the polling station, security of polling materials and also the overall security of the election process. The Home Department has already been requested to deploy adequate police personnel, so that the General Election of PRIs is conducted in a free, fair, peaceful, transparent and violence free manner.

20. He further stated that complaint cells shall also be established at the office of State Election Commission, Haryana and at District Headquarters to receive day to day complaints regarding elections and their speedy disposal.

21. He further stated that perfect communication plan will be set up at headquarter as well as district level, to enable concurrent intervention and mid course correction on the poll day.

22. He further stated that the instructions have already been issued to the District Election Officers (Panchayats) to establish the sufficient number of polling stations with all basic amenities such as ramps, first aid facility, shelter,

drinking water, toilet etc., so that the electors including senior citizens, women and physically challenged persons may not suffer any inconvenience.

23. He further stated that directions have already been issued to the District Election Officers (Panchayats) not to depute the ROs/AROs/POs/APOs and other Polling Staff at his/her own village or ward. Polling parties be formed randomly, through special application software i.e. first at the time of allotting blocks to the employees actually to be deputed on polling duty and second at the time of sending polling parties to the polling booths allotted to them.

24. Sh. Sharma, State Election Commissioner, Haryana appeals to all the voters to participate to elect the Members of Panchayati Raj Institutions for strengthening the democracy at grass root level.