Goa panchayat elections in January next year

Panaji, Mar 14 (UNI) Elections to 188 panchayats in Goa would be held in January next year on a non-party basis.

Elections to the third term of panchayats was held on January 20, 2002.

State election commissioner P M Borkar told UNI here that he had directed the Directorate of Panchayats to undertake delimitation of the existing 190 panchayats on the basis of the 2001 census.

The election to Taleigaon panchayat, which was held in 2004, would not be held in January.

Under the new delimitation exercise, five members would be elected for each panchayat with a population between 1500 and 2000, seven with population between 2000 and 5000, nine for panchayats with population between 5000 and 8000, and eleven for those with population above 8000, he added.

At present, there are 21 panchayats with five members, 108 with seven members, 41 with nine members and 20 panchayats with eleven members, he informed.

UNI BM MAZ DKS KN1805