J&K govt defers Mayor election at SMC till December 16
Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday deferred the election for the post of Mayor Srinagar Municipal Corporation till mid of this December in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.
The corporation was to get a new mayor within a month after Junaid Mattu was ousted from the post on June 16 in a no-confidence vote.
But an order issued Monday by Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Housing Development Department, Hirdesh Kumar said that Commissioner SMC had informed the government that the said election within the stipulated date of September 15 as mandated by section 36 of the J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000 was not possible as authorities had notified 96 zones in Srinagar district as ‘micro-containment zones’ in view of COVID-19 pandemic and prohibited any inward or outward movement of people in the said zones where from a large number of councilors hail from.
Accordingly, the time limit for conducting election for the post of Mayor SMC has been extended for six months from the date the post fell vacant (June 16) as provided by sub-section 2 of section 36 of the J&K Municipal Corporation Act.
A separate order issued by Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Department, also gave sanction to the relevant changes in the J&K Municipal Corporation Act 2000.
