Ward delimitation exercise in Kerala expected to be wrapped up by June, says Delimitation Commission chairman A. Shajahan

A. Shajahan, Chairman, State Delimitation Commission.

The delimitation of local body wards in Kerala can be fully wrapped up by June this year at the current pace of work, A. Shajahan, Chairman, State Delimitation Commission, has said.

On Friday (February 21, 2025), the commission opened a two-day hearing in Thiruvananthapuram district on petitions/complaints filed by the public based on a November 2024 draft notification on the demarcation of ward boundaries. This marks the final leg of the delimitation exercise’s critical Phase-1 which covered wards in grama panchayats, municipalities and corporations.

The commission had completed its hearings in the other 13 districts over the past weeks.

“Once the hearings are over, local body secretaries will be given a chance to correct serious anomalies, if any, based on the field enquiry and maps, the Collector’s reports and the proceedings of the hearings. We hope to issue the final notification related to Phase 1 in March,” Mr. Shajahan, who is also the State Election Commissioner, said. The Delimitation commission’s orders have the force of law and are final.

The completion of Phase 1 will also allow the State Election Commission to begin work on preparing the electoral rolls for the 2025 elections to the local bodies in Kerala.

Opting for the open source software-based Qfield app for the 2025 delimitation exercise to map ward boundaries has ensured precision and speed, Mr. Shajahan said. Compared to the 2010 delimitation exercise, the commission received a higher number of petitions this time. The number jumped from  approximately 5,600 petitions in 2010 to over 16,000 this time.

A large number of complaints at the district-level hearings dealt with alleged discrepancies in ward size, house numbers mistakenly included in neighbouring wards, missing house numbers, alleged failure to respect natural boundaries such as rivers when redrawing ward boundaries and change in ward names.

“Earlier the maps were manually drawn. So there were mismatches between the maps and the actual geographical location. But the use of technology for the mapping helps us pinpoint locations with precision. That is also a reason why we have received more complaints this time,” Mr. Shajahan said.

Three phases

The Delimitation Commission had planned the 2025 delimitation in three phases. The first phase, which is nearing completion, covers wards in grama panchayats, municipalities and corporations. The second and third phases will cover block and district panchayats respectively. The two latter phases will follow the same pattern as the first but are expected to be less time-consuming.

Last year, the State government had notified an increase in the number of wards in grama, block and district panchayats, municipalities and corporations from 21,900 to 23,612. In the 87 municipalities, the number increases from 3,113 to 3,241, in the six corporations from 414 to 421, and in the 941 grama panchayats, from 15,962 to 17,337. In the 152 block panchayats, the number goes up from 2080 to 2267, and in the 14 district panchayats, from 331 to 346.