Bhubaneswar: The housing and urban development department has drawn up an urgent programme to complete ward delimitation and reservation of seats in Sambalpur Municipal Corporation, the newly upgraded Puri Municipal Corporation, 28 newly constituted notified area councils (NACs) and several municipalities by March 2026.Official communications said the exercise in Sambalpur was held up due to a high court stay order issued in 2015, which was vacated in Sept 2025. Following the clearance of the legal hurdle, the State Election Commission (SEC) asked the govt to fast-track delimitation and reservation so that statutory preparations for general elections could begin.According to the timeline, Sambalpur and Puri municipal corporations were asked to submit ward division and reservation details in prescribed formats by Feb 11, 2026, along with sketch maps and resolutions.Draft notifications inviting public objections and suggestions are scheduled to be issued on Feb 21, 2026, with March 2, 2026 set as the deadline for receiving objections. Final notifications on ward delimitation and reservation across all new NACs and municipalities are to be completed by March 31, 2026.The SEC iterated that elections to newly created urban local bodies must be held within six months of their notification, setting June 2026 as the outer limit. It also reminded the govt of constitutional requirements under Articles 243-U and 243-ZA for the timely conduct of elections before the expiry of terms of existing urban local bodies.The exercise covers 28 newly created NACs and seven municipalities across districts including Angul, Balangir, Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kalahandi, Khurda, Koraput, Mayurbhanj, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Subarnapur. Puri’s elevation from municipality to municipal corporation necessitated a fresh delimitation and reservation process.Pending issues remain in other urban bodies, with Rourkela Municipal Corporation awaiting resolution of litigation involving three wards, while Bhubaneswar and Berhampur municipal corporations require reorganisation following expansion of their jurisdictions.Completion of the delimitation and reservation process is expected to enable preparation of electoral rolls, identification of polling stations and conduct of general elections to urban local bodies across Odisha within the stipulated time-frame.
