Hyderabad: District collectors on Tuesday submitted the reservation matrix for local body elections in sealed covers to the state government, earmarking 42 per cent quota for Backward Classes (BCs). The BC welfare department is expected to release the first Government Order (GO) within two days, implementing the 42 per cent quota for BCs in local bodies. Following state directives, collectors, Zilla Parishad CEOs, district panchayat officers, RDOs and MPDOs carried out a detailed exercise across 12,760 gram panchayats (1,12,534 wards), 565 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies (ZPTCs) and 5,763 Mandal Parishad Territorial Constituencies (MPTCs). Direct elections will be held for these posts, while 565 Mandal Parishad Presidents (MPPs) and 31 Zilla Parishad chairpersons (ZPCs) will be chosen indirectly. Officials pointed out that the new 42 per cent quota nearly doubles BC representation compared with the 2019 polls under the BRS regime, when they secured only 23 per cent.