India 2018

402 India 2018
based on 2001 census, has been undertaken after 30 years. The population has
increased by almost 87 per cent and the nature of constituencies in the country,
by and large, had become malapportioned.
The Government, as part of the National Population Policy strategy,
decided to extend the current constitutional freeze on undertaking fresh
delimitation up to 2026 as a motivational measure to enable state governments
to fearlessly pursue the agenda for population stabilization. It has also been
decided, however, to simultaneously undertake readjustment and
rationalization of electoral constituencies, including those reserved for the
Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, based on the population census
for the year 1991, without affecting the number of seats allocated to states in
the legislative bodies so as to correct the imbalance caused due to uneven growth
of population/electorate in different constituencies. The Constitution (Eightyfourth
Amendment) Act, 2001 enacted in 2002 has effected the aforesaid policy
decisions of the Government. Pursuant to the enactment of the Constitution
(Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001 which provided for readjustment of
electoral constituencies, including those reserved for the Scheduled Castes and
the Scheduled tribes. The Delimitation Act, 2002 was enacted. The Delimitation
Commission had accordingly been constituted in 2002 under the provisions of
the Delimitation Act, 2002 with Shri Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired judge of the
Supreme Court as its Chairperson and Shri B.B. Tandon, Election Commissioner
in the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissioner as its
members. The main task of the Commission was to readjust the division of
territorial constituencies of the seats in the House of the People allocated to
each state and the readjustment of the division of territorial constituencies of
the total number of seats in the Legislative assembly of each state. Subsequent
to that the Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2003 was enacted
and by that Act the basis of the delimitation of territorial constituencies was
changed based on the 2001 census in place of 1991.
Although the rules for delimitation vary across countries, tasks involved
in drawing boundaries are generally similar. In India, the drawing of boundaries,
generally, entails: (a) allocating seats to the states and districts within a state;
creating a database composed of maps, population figures and the details
showing geographic/natural/administrative conditions of the area concerned;
associating the statutory representatives from the Lok Sabha and State
Assemblies; (d) distributing the states and districts into geographic units called
the constituencies; (e) having an extensive exercise for public input into
delimitation process; (f) summarizing and evaluating the constituencies; and
g) passing and publishing the final order. The procedure for delimiting the
constituencies in India stands clearly spelt out in The Delimitation Act, 2002.
This legal framework provides for an independent and impartial Delimitation
Commission. The final orders of the Commission are not subject to any
modification or veto by the Government.