The 126-member Assam Assembly has passed two Bills for reserving 50% of seats in the State’s civic bodies for 10 years by rotation.
According to the third amendment to the Assam Municipal Act of 1956, half the seats in any municipality to be filled up by direct election would be reserved for women. These seats include those reserved for women from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The amendment also proposes the allotment of the municipal seats for reservation by rotation every 10 years.
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“The step to provide reservation in a ward for 10 years will encourage women to participate in the elections and enable them to bring sustainability to the schemes implemented by the urban local bodies,” Urban Development Minister Ashok Singhal said.
The Assembly also passed The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021, extending the tenure of women’s reservation for up to 10 years in the direct election of its councillors.
