New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has started work at its end in anticipation of the civic polls in the city and is awaiting announcement of the election date, a senior civic official said on Thursday.

The State Election Commission here has also set the balls in motion ahead of the polls.

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According to a communication issued on Wednesday by the Delhi State Election Commission (SEC), it has asked the authorities concerned to take necessary steps and and "finalise tenders" in all respects latest by October 21, sources said on Thursday.

MCD polls are expected to take place at the fag end of 2022 or early next year.

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The Ministry of Home Affairs on October 17 had issued the final gazette notification for redrawing of municipal wards in Delhi.

Soon after the notification, the SEC on Wednesday appointed nearly 70 returning-cum-scrutinising officers for the 250 municipal wards, setting the wheels in motion for the civic polls. Each officer has a chunk of wards under his jurisdiction.

Earlier, authorities had issued a communication, saying the assistant commissioners of all zones of the MCD have been nominated as respective nodal officers.

"The MCD has started work at its end in anticipation of the civic polls. We are awaiting announcement of the election date," the senior civic official said.

As per a Delhi Gazette notification issued on September 10, the central government has fixed the total number of seats in the MCD at 250 from the existing figure of 272 as part of a delimitation exercise.

The total number of seats reserved for the members of the Scheduled Castes in the MCD in proportion to their number is also determined to be 42, it had said.

The civic body -- trifurcated as North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations in 2011 -- were amalgamated into a unified body in May 2022, assuming again the identity of MCD.

The previous three corporations in Delhi comprised 104 wards each in North and South corporations and the East corporation had 64 wards under its jurisdiction.

All the zonal additional director of education (ADEs) of the education department are deputed as sub-nodal officers (manpower), the MCD communication had earlier said.

An officer from education department at HQ, i.e., additional director in department of education (DOE), will be deputed as nodal officer (manpower) for uploading or updating the information details in respect of the MCD HQ, it had said.

The polls were earlier slated to be held in April.

The BJP, which was ruling the three municipal corporations -- NDMC, SDMC and EDMC -- in Delhi for over a decade before their reunification in May this year, the AAP, and the Congress have already started preparation for the polls.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)