The Andhra Pradesh government has issued GO No. 251 to implement reservations for Backward Classes in urban local body elections, covering municipalities, nagar panchayats and municipal corporations across the state.
The order follows the recommendations of a special commission constituted to finalise BC reservations. The government has accepted the commission’s recommendations and directed the municipal administration department to take further action for implementation.
According to the order, reservations in urban areas have been finalised using data from the Unified Family Survey and SGSW. The reservation structure covers Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, with the combined reservations for the three categories required to remain within the 50 per cent ceiling set by the Supreme Court and Andhra Pradesh High Court orders.
The government has also finalised reservations for mayors, municipal chairpersons and ward members on a rotation basis. The process will use the reservation circle implemented in 2021 as its reference point for determining subsequent reservations.
Where municipal wards have been divided further, however, the reservation cycle for ward members will begin afresh. This provision applies to urban local bodies in which ward boundaries or the composition of wards have changed since the earlier reservation exercise.
The order places responsibility for carrying out the next stage of the process with the municipal administration department. The department will have to implement the category-wise and rotational reservations across the affected urban local bodies in accordance with the government order and the judicial limits cited in it.
GO No. 251 was issued by S. Suresh Kumar, principal secretary in the Municipal and Urban Development Department. The order provides the administrative basis for applying the finalised BC reservations in upcoming local body polls, while also setting out how reservations are to be handled where ward divisions have changed.
The decision is significant for urban governance because the reservation framework will determine representation in municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats. It will affect the allocation of reserved positions for mayors, chairpersons and ward members as the state moves towards implementing the local body election process.
