Bhubaneswar: With the Winter Session of the Odisha Assembly adjourned sine die, Governor Ganeshi Lal has promulgated an ordinance to amend the panchayat laws in the state.
The Governor promulgated the ordinance — the Odisha Panchayat Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 — on December 23 to further amend the Odisha Gram Panchayat Act, 1964; Odisha Panchayat Samiti Act, 1959; and Odisha Zilla Parishad Act, 1991.
On December 19, the State Election Commission (SEC) released the model code of conduct to be followed by parties and candidates for elections to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs), slated to be held early next year.
It may be noted that the panchayat elections will have to be held by March 2022 since the term of all the PRIs will be over by that time.
According to an earlier notification, polling will be held for 853 Zilla Parishads with party symbols and for 91,916 wards and 6,794 panchayats on non-party basis.
