Lucknow, Dec 31 (PTI) The newly appointed panel on reservations to Other Backward Classes in urban local body elections in Uttar Pradesh will submit its first report in two-and-a-half to three months, its chairman said on Saturday and added that he hoped to complete the task within six months.

The five-member panel, appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a reservation draft following the Supreme Court-prescribed 'triple test' formula, held its first meeting here on Saturday.

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Talking to reporters after the meeting, Chairman Justice (Retd) Ram Avtar Singh said the panel would go to each of the state's 75 districts to collect data. The panel will also contact district magistrates for it.

"Discussions are going on about how the work has to be done. Meetings will be held almost daily. We have to submit the first report (to the state government) in a span of two-and-a-half to three months and our efforts will be to complete the work at the earliest," he said.

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The 'triple test' formula requires setting up of a commission to hold a 'rigorous empirical inquiry' into the nature of 'backwardness' in the context of the local bodies, specifying the proportion of reservation based on the commission's recommendations, and not exceeding the overall 50 per cent quota limit.

On the follow-up action after submission of the initial report, Singh said it would take another two to three months.

"We are making efforts and are hopeful that the mandate will be completed in six months," he said.

He said the panel would also seek the help of revenue officials for the data collection.

"We expect that the public representatives will provide appropriate information so that we can prepare a good report," Justice (Retd) Singh said.

The panel chairman also said it was a new work and it had to be done in a new manner.

He said the panel would look into the work done in states such Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka to know the procedure adopted.

When asked about the kind of help the panel was expecting from the public representatives, Justice (Retd) Singh said, "We will seek their help so that we get proper information. If the administration provides wrong information, then through the public representative, the information can be corrected."

He also said no guidelines (for data collection) had been made so far.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the panel on December 27 after Allahabad High Court quashed its draft notification on urban local body elections and ordered it to hold the polls without reservation for the Other Backward Classes.

The four other members of the panel are retired Indian Administrative Service officers Chaub Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar and former legal advisors to the state Santosh Kumar Viskarma and Brajesh Kumar Soni.

A notification on the panel's constitution, issued by the Urban Development department, said the commission's term would be for a six-month period from the day of taking charge.

The state government on Thursday moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court order to annul its December 5 draft notification and asking it to hold urban local body polls without reservation for the Other Backward Classes.

(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)