Bhubaneswar: Five new areas have been included in the municipal corporation's tentative ward delimitation report ahead of next year's civic elections.

The new areas included in the report are Kalinga Nagar, Kalinga Vihar, Subuddhipur and parts of Patrapada and Bhagbanpur. However, the number of wards will remain unchanged.

Civic officials held a special meeting on Monday before submitting the report to the housing and urban development department.

"We convened the meeting for opinions of our councillors and officials. We have submitted the tentative list to the government," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.

The reservation quotas for councillors also remain unchanged, sources said. Of the 67 wards, 34 will be reserved for women. "It is a tentative list that will go another round of amendment at the government level," said Jena.

The civic body's expert committee changed the boundary limits of the wards, but hasn't suggested any increase in the number. "The limited the number of wards, the easy it is to undertake development work," said a civic official.

The ward delimitation report is necessary for urban body elections that are likely to be held early next year.

Residents, however, expressed their displeasure over the delimitation since it had ignored pleas to include many areas, including Nadan Vihar and Tikarpada.

"It was ignorant of the civic body. Some top officials with vested interests are not in favour of increasing areas under civic jurisdiction. It is not acceptable. We will protest against the move," said Jagannath Mishra, a resident of Nadan Vihar.