Panchkula, December 24: Soon, towns and villages of Kalka and Pinjore will not be a part of the Panchkula Municipal Corporation as the state Cabinet has given its nod to the Haryana Municipal Committee (Amendment) Act, 2018.
The Cabinet also decided to get the pending cases in Ambala and Panchkula courts disposed of. It decided that the average population growth from 2011, when the census was conducted, to 2018 should be taken into consideration for constituting a separate corporation or committee for Kalka and Pinjore.
The Cabinet also decided to hold elections for the Panchkula MC after constituting a separate corporation or a municipal committee for Kalka and Pinjore.
The government had constituted a committee, headed by Divisional Commissioner Vivek Joshi, to look into the issue, which had recommended setting up a separate municipal committee for Kalka and Pinjore. It had recommended that Panchkula should continue to have a Municipal Corporation.
A former councillor from Ward No. 4, Satinder Tony, had challenged the demand of the Kalka MLA in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Tony, through his advocate Karanvir Singh Khehar, had claimed that the committee constituted by the government had produced wrong population data for constituting a separate municipal committee for Kalka and Pinjore. The government had submitted its reply on November 20, but the court had sought a detailed report on it. The government had sought more time during the previous hearing on December 7 and now the case is to come up for further hearing on January 28.
Local MLA Gian Chand Gupta said the Cabinet approval of the Haryana Municipal Committee (Amendment) Act, 2018, had paved the way for the creation of a separate municipal committee for Kalka and Pinjore. He said the case was pending in the High Court and they were hopeful of a favourable decision.
The Panchkula MC was set up in 2012 by including Kalka, Pinjore and 42 villages. The five-year term of the Panchkula MC, which includes the two Assembly segments Kalka and Panchkula, had ended on July 3. The Raipur Rani, Barwala, Kalka, Pinjore, Morni and Panchkula areas come under the MC.
Elections to the Panchkula MC were held in 2013 after the formation of wards on the basis of the 2011 census.
