Guidelines issued for delimitation of wards

Thiruvananthapuram: The state delimitation commission has issued guidelines for delimitation of wards in local self-govt institutions. The delimitation process will be conducted in three phases.
In the first phase, delimitation will be done in grama panchayats, municipalities and corporations. In the second phase, it will be done in block panchayats, and in the third phase, it will be done in district panchayats.
According to govt's notification, the total number of wards in state's local self-govt institutions will be 23,612.Currently, it is 21,900. The number of wards is determined based on the 2011 census population data.
The number of wards in 87 municipalities will increase from 3,113 to 3,241, in six corporations from 414 to 421, in 941 grama panchayats from 15,962 to 17,337, in 152 block panchayats from 2,080 to 2,267 and in 14 district panchayats from 331 to 346.
The draft report on ward delimitation conducted in the first phase will be approved by the delimitation commission on Nov 16. Complaints and suggestions regarding the draft report can be submitted until Dec 1 via email, registered post or directly to the secretary of the delimitation commission, district collector or regional deputy director.
State govt will determine the boundaries of the wards in local self-govt institutions. The draft report on ward delimitation will be submitted to the delimitation commission by the district collector, who is the chief officer of the district.
According to the amended municipal laws, the number of wards in grama panchayats should be between 14 and 24, in block panchayats between 17 and 33, in municipalities between 26 and 53 and in corporations between 56 and 101.
Ward delimitation guidelines can be accessed on the websites https://www.lsgkerala.gov.in; https://www.sec.kerala.gov.in; https://www.prd.kerala.gov.in and https://www.kerala.gov.in as decided by the commission.