Odisha mulls to hold direct poll for mayor post

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to bring transparency in civic body system, Odisha government is mulling to hold direct election for the mayor’s post in the corporations and chairman in Notified Area Council (NACs).

The proposal was given the cabinet nod at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday.

The draft bill in this regard is likely to be tabled in Assembly very soon for amendment, official source said.

After passing of the proposal in the House, the mayors in municipal corporations and chairmen in NACs will be directly elected by people.

Earlier, there was direct election system for the post of mayor and sarpanch in municipal corporations and panchayats during the government led by late Chief Minister Biju Patnaik. Subsequently, the system was changed for political interest.

The BJD government decided to reintroduce that system to curb corruption and bring transparency in elections of civic bodies including Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).