From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Dec 21: The State Government has decided to file a special leave petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court seeking more time for publishing the ward-wise reservation list for the 209 urban local bodies.

The SLP will also seek more time for setting right the anomalies in the revised draft list.

A State Cabinet meeting on Friday decided to file the SLP before the Apex Court seeking some more time to prepare the ward-wiser reservation list for the 209 ULBs based on 2011 census.

The present list was prepared based on 2001 Census.

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the State government to publish the reservation list by Friday (December 21).

Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister S Suresh Kumar said that the Government would also file a petition in the High Court stating that it would file the SLP in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeking more time to publish the quota list.

The State Government has prepared the reservation list based on 2001 census as the figures of 2011 Census were yet to be finalized and made available.

The Directorate of Census has stated that the figures would be finalised only in March/April 2013.

But the elections to the ULBs should be held before March 2013, the minister said.

The Minister said the State Government had sought more time to finalise the list on the ground that it had received 2500 objections to the draft list and required time to go through them and make a study.

Kumar said 43 town municipal councils would be elevated as city municipal councils if the 2011 census figures are applied.

Moreover, the number of reserve seats would be increase if the list was prepared based on 2011 census, the minister said.

The State Election Commission had approached the Karnataka High Court, which directed the State Government to complete the ward-wise quota by Friday.