Dist machinery gears up for panchayat polls

Vizianagaram: State Election Commissioner P Ramakantha Reddy said that efforts were on to conduct gram panchayat elections in a foolproof manner in view of the notification to be issued soon. The Election Commissioner was reviewing with the District Collectors on Monday through a video conference from Hyderabad. The panchayat elections will be conducted in three phases, he said. MPTC and ZPTC elections will be conducted in two phases. Two senior IAS officials will be appointed as observers in every district for the smooth conduct of the elections. Similarly, 23 IFS officials will be appointed to review the election expenditure. They will inspect the election process in the allotted areas, he added. In 2006, 15.59 per cent sarpanchas and 29 per cent ward members were elected unanimously, he recalled. The Commissioner called upon the district administrations to gear up for the smooth conduct of panchayat elections. He urged them to be ready with the list of gram panchayats as well the voter list as per the 2011 census. He also urged them to make a list of the polling stations and ensure that they function properly. He urged the officials to make repairs to the polling stations if necessary. The list of gram panchayats going for polls as well as the voter list should be put up in the District Collector's office and also in the district panchayat office, he said. Necessary staff should be trained in the election process and deployed, he added. Central government employees will be appointed as observers after training them, Mr Reddy said. An additional 18,000 ballot boxes have been taken from Karnataka to the State. If necessary they will be distributed in the districts, he said. The ballot boxes in the district should be examined, and they should be repaired if necessary and kept ready, he said. The voters in order to use their franchise should produce their voter ID card or any of the 21 ID cards listed by the Election Commission to any of the polling staff, he said. The ballot papers should be printed and kept ready, he suggested. He said that the security measures should be in place in order to conduct the elections in a peaceful manner and urged that law and order should be reviewed from time to time. The election code should be implemented in the areas going for election, he said. Forms, covers and pamphlets related to elections should be sent to MPDO offices. Web casting or observers or striking force should be deployed definitely, he added. District Collector Kantilal Dande said that 921 gram panchayats have been identified in Parvathipuram and Vizianagaram divisions for conducting elections. Proposals of two gram panchayats have been sent for review as both the villages will be submerged. Voter lists and list of polling stations have been published, he said. About 2,200 ballot boxes have been kept ready, he said. Election and assistant election officers have been appointed and their training will begin soon. Some 5,000 election personnel have been identified as observers, the Collector explained. Covers and stationery have been sent to the MPDOs and the ballot papers have been printed, he added. Election Commission Secretary from Hyderabad Naveen Mittal, Printing and Stationery Commissioner RP Meena, Law and Order DGP SSK Kaumudi, joint collector from the district PA Shoba, Superintendent of Police Kartikeyan, Zilla Parishad CEO N Mohan Rao, District Panchayat Officer Satyasai Srinivas, RDOs J Venkat Rao, G Rajakumari, ASPs, DSPs and others participated.