BANGALORE: P.G.R. Sindhia, former Minister and associate member of the National Delimitation Commission, has demanded amendments to the existing Delimitation Act, 2002 to ensure due representation to rural areas and address the increasing urban-rural divide.

Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday after participating in the commission's deliberations in New Delhi on Thursday, Mr. Sindhia said the Delimitation Act could not ensure justice to sparsely populated rural areas because only the population factor was being taken into account for reorganising Assembly constituencies, and other aspects such as geographical are and habitation conditions were being overlooked.

Asserting that the issue was of national importance for political and social reasons, Mr. Sindhia said that, as an example, he had drawn the commission's attention to the plight of Malnad, which would be forced to give up some of its Assembly constituencies due to the inflexibility the Act. Habitations in the Malnad region were spread out owing to factors such as thick forests, hillocks, streams and ravines.

Kodagu

Similarly, Kodagu might have to give up one of its three constituencies under the Act.

Kodagu, which was given special status during the creation of linguistic States in 1956, was likely to lose its special status also in the process, he said.

Referring to the imbalances in the number of reserved constituencies for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes, Mr. Sindhia said the Act had accommodated Schedule Castes in all the districts in the State whereas it had accommodated Schedule Tribes in only three districts.

Social questions

Such anomalies, which raised both social and political questions, could only be addressed by amending the Act, he said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail