Daijiworld Media Network - Mapusa

Mapusa, Sep 17: The schedule for Goa’s upcoming municipal elections could face a fresh challenge as the Goa State Commission for Backward Classes has sought at least two more months to complete its empirical inquiry into OBC population data.

The Commission informed the High Court of Bombay at Goa that the six-day period available to it after the final delimitation was insufficient to collect, verify and finalise municipality-wise OBC population data for all 11 municipalities. The application came up before the High Court on Wednesday, with the next hearing scheduled for September 23.

The Commission has been tasked with furnishing municipality-wise data to the State Election Commission to determine OBC reservation for the upcoming municipal elections. In its August 25 order, the High Court had directed the Commission to complete the exercise and submit the required report and data by September 16.

However, in an application filed on September 11, the Commission said it had initially sought 45 days to complete the exercise but was ultimately given only six days after final delimitation. It pointed out that four of those six days were public holidays, including the weekend of September 12 and 13 and Ganesh Chaturthi holidays on September 14 and 15.

The Commission said the compressed timeframe made it difficult to collect and verify accurate contemporary OBC population data across all 11 municipalities.

According to the application, the Commission had approached the Directorate of Planning, Statistics seeking population data based on the 2011 Census, which was to serve as the baseline. It had also sought staff and nodal officers from the respective municipal councils to assist with data collection and verification.

However, only seven of the 11 municipal councils submitted revised population and OBC population details, while Pernem, Bicholim, Mormugao and Canacona municipal councils had not provided the required data, the Commission said.

The Commission further said that even the data received from the seven councils required detailed verification, as the actual OBC population could potentially be higher. It said thorough verification was necessary to avoid disputes concerning reservation.

The Commission also highlighted its limited manpower, stating that it has five members, one contractual administrative officer, two lower divisional clerks and a peon to carry out the exercise.

The High Court’s August 25 order had set September 20 as the deadline for publishing the draft reservation notification, followed by the statutory 30-day period for objections and suggestions. The final reservation notification is scheduled to be published by November 9, while the State Election Commission is expected to announce the municipal elections on December 10.

The election process is required to be completed within 25 days, with the results scheduled to be declared by January 4, 2027.

The Commission has now sought an extension of at least two months to complete the empirical exercise and submit the data required for determining OBC reservation.