The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Delimitation report to get nod soon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 03, 2007
ePaper

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Delimitation report to get nod soon

N.J. Nair

Census figures of 2001 form basis of delimitation
Exercise taken up after a gap of
34 years

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The report of the Delimitation Commission, headed by Kuldip Singh, is likely to get Presidential assent within a fortnight.

The report has been forwarded by the Union Ministry of Law. The new constituencies will be notified after getting the assent. The constituencies have been delimited on the basis of the census figures of 2001.

The new constituencies are likely to come into existence in the State before the next Lok Sabha elections due in 2009. Local self-government institutions have been taken as the primary unit for delimiting the constituencies. The delimitation exercise was taken up in the State after a gap of 34 years.

The commission has avoided the fragmentation of districts, corporations, municipalities and panchayats.

The limits of constituencies which remain spread over two or three districts have been made geographically compact units. Coordinating development activities has been found to be an arduous task for elected representatives in constituencies that remain over two or more districts. There have been complaints that remote areas and hilly terrains are neglected by the representatives as they are inaccessible. This is one of the main reasons for delimiting the Muvattupuzha and Adoor constituencies.

Reserved constituencies

The population of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Lok Sabha and Assembly segments has been taken as the basis for finalising the reserved constituencies.

Alathur and Mavelikara will be the two reserved Lok Sabha constituencies. Manjeri, Ottappalam, Mukundapuram, Muvattupuzha, Adoor and Chirayinkeezhu Lok Sabha constituencies will cease to exist once the new report is ratified by the President.

Malappuram, Wayanad, Alathur, Chalakkudy and Pathanamthitta are the new segments which have been carved out by the commission, sources said.

The number of Lok Sabha and Assembly segments will remain the same.

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

Kerala