SC directs Karnataka govt to hold Bengaluru civic body polls by June 30
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Karnataka government and the state election body to hold the long-pending polls for Bengaluru local body by June 30.
The tenure of the earlier elected body for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) expired on September 10, 2020, and since then a government-appointed administrator was taking care of its day-to-day affairs.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice JK Maheshwari, which fixed the schedule for the poll process, said that the final ward-wise reservation list shall be published by the state government by February 20, and made it clear that no further extension shall be granted.
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The order was passed on a plea of the Karnataka government which has challenged the high court's December 2020 order that directed the State Election Commission to hold BBMP elections expeditiously after finalising the electoral rolls.
The top court is monitoring the compliance of its earlier orders regarding polls to the BBMP and the newly created municipal corporations within the Greater Bengaluru Area (GBA).
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Karnataka government, submitted that the exercise of finalising and notifying ward-wise reservations is underway and will be done within a month.
The bench took the statement on record and fixed February 20 as the final deadline for publication of the list of reservations.
Senior advocate KN Phanindra, appearing for the State Election Commission (SEC), informed the court that the date for publication of the final voter list was fixed as March 16, keeping in mind the fixture of board and college examinations. He submitted that educational institutions will be used as polling stations and teachers will be deployed for election duties.
Phanindra added that Board examinations are likely to conclude by May end and the polls to the local bodies can be held thereafter.
The bench ordered, "The elections in all circumstances shall be concluded before June 30, 2026."
In its December 2020 judgment, the high court upheld the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Third Amendment Act, 2020, which increased the number of BBMP wards.
The high court had, however, "read down" the amendment, holding that it would not apply to elections that ought to have been held under Article 243 of the Constitution before the amendment came into effect.
On December 18, 2020, the top court stayed the high court order, and in 2022, it asked the state government to complete the process of delimitation of wards for BBMP and to notify the same within a period of eight weeks.
The Karnataka government earlier notified reservations for 369 wards across five newly carved municipal corporations in the Greater Bengaluru Area.
Unlike the previous civic body polls, which were held for 198 wards, the next elections will be held for 369 wards across five corporations, an increase of 171.
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Delhi govt to add 7,000 EV charging stations, 2,000 buses this year to curb air pollution
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi government is planing to install around 7,000 new electric vehicle charging stations by the end of the year to promote clean mobility and boost EV adoption, officials said on Monday.
According to the officials, the initiative is part of a broader strategy to mitigate vehicular emissions, a primary driver of air pollution in the national capital. Alongside the charging infrastructure, the government is planing to strengthen public transport by expanding the bus fleet.
The existing EV policy will expire at the end of March. Officials said a revised policy is expected to finalised and notified by that deadline.
Under the proposed transport plant, the government has plans to add over 2000 buses by the end of 2026, the officials said.
In a recent high-level review meeting on air pollution control measures, authorities established a total requirement of 11,000 buses for the city. Delhi, currently operates 5,245 buses, including 3,377 electric buses.
"A month-wise action plan was shared with the officials. The target is to add 2,468 new buses this year. However, some old CNG buses may get phased out over the year, which the government has to factor in yet," a senior official said.
To support the transition to electric vehicles, the government's pollution control plan includes the addition of 7,000 charging stations across the city.
Official data shows that as of December, Delhi has 8,849 charging stations against a projected requirement of 36,150. This leaves a current deficit of 27,301 stations.
With the addition of 7,000 new charging stations, the total is expected to reach 15,849. These charging stations are situated at Rapid Rail and Delhi Metro stations and are installed by power distribution companies, the officials said.
The government is also working with the Delhi Traffic Police to address road congestion.
Traffic Police has identified 62 congestion hotspots and 215 specific remedial tasks. Of these, 83 tasks have been completed, while 46 have been deemed unfeasible due to ongoing infrastructure projects, redevelopment works, or lack of feasibility, the officials said.
Of the 86 pending tasks, 50 are scheduled to be completed within the next one to six months.
The government's web portal for licensing and onboarding vehicles by motor vehicles aggregators, delivery service providers and e-commerce entities has registered approximately 7 lakh vehicles since its launch in 2023, they added.
