The Hindu : Kerala News : State to have 14 new grama panchayats

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

State to have 14 new grama panchayats

By Our Staff Reporter

KOLLAM, APRIL 5. The State Election Commissioner, N. Mohandas, has said that once the ward delimitation process gets completed, the number of wards under the local bodies in the State will rise to 20,000 from the present 17,000. This means that the State will have 14 new grama panchayats.

Talking to presspersons here today, Mr. Mohandas said that from the 14 new panchayats, three would be created from the Thiruvananthapuram City Corporation, three from various municipalities and the remaining eight from the grama panchayats as a result of ward delimitation. The process would be completed by June 30 and was being achieved on the basis of population figures.

As per the schedule being prepared by the State Election Commission (SEC), the election to the local bodies would be completed by September end so as to enable the new local body committees to come into existence by the first week of October. In case the State Government decides to go for a system through which panchayat presidents are elected directly by the voters, the SEC is prepared to meet the same without making any postponement to the October deadline for the new committees to come into existence. He made the point while mentioning that the option in that connection was still open before the State Government.

The notification for the election will be made during the month of August. The voting to the local bodies will be completed in a single day. The voters' list can be updated even on the day previous to the last date for submission of nominations. Voters who do not possess identity cards will be permitted to vote on the basis of their ration cards or nine other identification documents.

Addressing a training class for the electoral officers for local bodies, Mr. Mohandas said that the ward delimitation for the tsunami-affected areas would be decided separately. The respective District Collectors would visit the concerned areas for the purpose. The District Collector, B. Sreenivas, was also present.

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