A day before the Election Commission ban on any new administrative unit in Assam from January 1 until completion of the delimitation exercise, the state Cabinet approved the merger of four districts with the districts they had been carved out of.
Key Points On Delimitation
- On December 27, the EC announced the process of delimitation of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies in Assam, saying it would be based on Census data from 2001. Assam currently has 14 Lok Sabha, 126 Assembly constituencies.
- The EC also issued a directive banning the creation of new administrative units in the state with effect from January 1 until completion of the delimitation exercise in the state.
- Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the Cabinet had approved some proposals that had been in the works for some time.
- He said Tamulpur district – it was formed on January 23 this year – would be re-merged with Baksa district. Hojai district and Biswanath district, which were created in 2015, would go back to Nagaon and Sonitpur respectively. Bajali district, which was created on January 12, 2021, would be re-merged with Barpeta.
- The mergers will bring down the count of districts in Assam from 35 to 31.
What Is Delimitation And How Is It Carried Out?
- Delimitation is the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Assembly constituencies based on a recent census to ensure each seat has an almost equal number of voters.
- It is ideally carried out every few years after a Census by an independent Delimitation Commission formed under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act.
- According to the ECI’s order, the delimitation Commission will design and finalise its own guidelines and methodology for the purpose of delimiting the constituencies.
- During the delimitation exercise, the delimitation Commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, and public convenience and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact areas.
- Once a draft proposal for the delimitation of constituencies is finalised by the delimitation Commission, it will be published in the Central and State gazettes for inviting suggestions and objections from the general public
The Delimitation Commission
Delimitation Commission Composition
How Have Previous Delimitation Exercises Actually Worked?
- In the history of the Indian republic, Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002. There was no delimitation after the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Censuses.
- However, the 2002 Act did not make any changes in total Lok Sabha seats or their apportionment between various states. It also left out a few states including Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur from the exercise due to “security risks.”
- The central government reconstituted the Delimitation Commission for these four states as well as the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir on 6 March 2020.
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Frequently Added Questions
The delimitation of territorial constituencies in India is the responsibility of Election Commissioner.
The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India
In India- Delimitation Commission has been set up for 4 times in the past
