Delimitation of local body wards to be scaled down

Preliminary procedures like constitution of the delimitation commission and enumerating voters in each division have not been initiated so far.

August 30, 2014 12:06 pm | Updated 12:06 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The State government is planning to scale down the delimitation of local body wards to the bare minimum to expedite the process and overcome time constraint.

Political indecision in preparing a roadmap for delimitation as well as a series of recent issues pertaining to Plus Two batches and closure of bars are understood to have forced the United Democratic Front (UDF) leadership to back-burner the redrawing of boundaries of local body wards.

Now it is virtually impossible to complete the process ahead of the local body elections. Preliminary procedures like constitution of the delimitation commission and enumerating voters in each division have not been initiated so far.

Since repeated reminders to the State government failed to elicit a response from the State government, the State Election Commissioner is understood to have apprised Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Minister for Panchayats M.K. Muneer of the gravity of the issue and also set a deadline for commencing the mandatory steps. The State Election Commissioner being the chairman of the delimitation commission, the onus is on him to complete the process in a foolproof manner.

Official sources told The Hindu that UDF constituents had drawn up a wish list for converting a number of municipalities into corporations, but the proposals had not yet been crystallised so far.

Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali had recently announced his decision to upgrade the status of 32 municipalities. Fifteen municipalities with an annual income above Rs.4 crore and a population of 50,000 were upgraded as first grade municipalities. The list included Malappuram, which is tipped to be elevated as a corporation. Seventeen municipalities with an annual income above Rs.2 crore and a population above 25,000 have become second grade municipalities. Delay in starting the procedures would eventually force the commission to complete the process in a clumsy manner, sources said.

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