Date:24/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/24/stories/2008052454791300.htm

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Hold 2011 census panchayatwise: Delimitation Commission

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi: The Delimitation Commission on Friday recommended to the Centre that the next census in 2011 should be conducted panchayatwise based on their boundaries.

Addressing a press conference, Commission chairman Justice Kuldip Singh, along with Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, favoured delimitation once in 10 years after every census so that readjustment of the constituencies, including changes and alterations, were not too extensive and the value of electoral vote remained more or less of equal weight.

Common poll rolls

Mr. Justice Singh said such a census would ensure preparation of common electoral rolls for all the three tiers of democracy — panchayat, Assembly and parliamentary constituencies. Though the Commission’s tenure was to end on July 31, it would wind up its work on May 31 itself.

Mr. Justice Singh released two volumes of the report published by the Commission and handed them over to Mr. Gopalaswami.

He said the delimitation work had been completed except in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Jharkhand and it would not be applicable to Jammu and Kashmir.

Public demand

The Commission also recommended rotating Scheduled Castes constituencies and the government could consider suitably amending the law. Some of the SC constituencies were reserved for several decades. Mr. Justice Singh said: “There has been a public demand that the principle of rotation be adopted for reservation of SC constituencies. This was not permissible under the present Delimitation Act, 2002.”

Asked whether political parties would accept the proposal, he said it was a suggestion and it was up to the government to decide.

To a question, Mr. Gopalaswami said the Commission would be in a position to hold the next Lok Sabha elections as per the redrawn constituencies any time after August 31. “Our electoral rolls revised according to the newly delimited constituencies will be ready by August 31,” and elections held thereafter would be as per the delimited seats.