Panchayat poll: BDPOs told to submit list of tax defaulters to returning officers

Ahead of the panchayat elections in the state, the Punjab State Election Commission on Sunday directed the Block Development and Panchayat Officers (BDPOs) to provide to the returning officer (ROs) panchayat-wise list of persons who have defaulted in clearing various dues and taxes payable to the panchayats or those in unauthorised occupation of properties belonging to the local authorities.

It will enable the ROs to check if anyone filing a nomination for the post of panchayat sarpanch or panch was a defaulter in the payment of legal dues to the panchayat. In detailed guidelines, the commission has said that anyone who has defaulted in making any such payment should be given ample opportunity to clear those dues and then submit his nomination till the time of scrutiny (October 5).

The commission has also clarified that in case of delay in obtaining the NOCs as regards clearance of dues, affidavits issued by executive magistrates, notary or oath commissioners will also be valid. The directions have come in the wake of Opposition parties taking up the issue of difficulty in obtaining no-objection certificates as regards payment of various dues.

In a representation to the commission, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said, “The voter lists being taken into account for the panchayat elections have January 1, 2023, as the qualifying date, while those used for the Lok Sabha elections had January 1, 2024, as the qualifying date. As a result, a voter who became eligible to cast vote or contest elections on January 1, 2024, might be deprived of his right to exercise his franchise during the panchayat poll.”

It has also been pointed out that in some blocks, the lists regarding the reservation of sarpanch’s post or wards etc. are not available. This has created uncertainty among the candidates. A demand has been made that voter lists and lists as regards reservation of sarpanch’s posts and wards be uploaded on the website of the district’s DC.

Qualifying date for voters

The voter lists being taken into account for the panchayat elections have January 1, 2023, as the qualifying date, while those used for the Lok Sabha elections had January 1, 2024, as the qualifying date. — Partap Singh Bajwa, Leader of Opposition