Delimitation

With the general election over this year the topic of delimitation has gained momentum.

About:

ØDelimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country to represent changes in population.

ØThe Delimitation Commission is to work without any executive influence.

ØThe Constitution mandates that the Commission’s orders are final and cannot be questioned before any court as it would hold up an election indefinitely.

ØWhen the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot effect any modification in the orders.

Why delimitation?

ØTo provide equal representation to equal segments of a population.

ØFair division of geographical areas so that one political party doesn’t have an advantage over others in an election.

ØTo follow the principle of “One Vote One Value”.

Composition of the delimitation commission:

The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.

ØRetired Supreme Court judge

ØChief Election Commissioner

ØRespective State Election Commissioners

What is the Process of Delimitation?

Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.

Under Article 170, States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census.

Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission.

ØThe first delimitation exercise was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission) in 1950-51.

ØThe Delimitation Commission Act was enacted in 1952.

Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

ØThere was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.

Seats have been frozen since 1971 to encourage population control, with the freeze extended until 2026 through the 84th Amendment Act.

Issues with Delimitation:

States that take little interest in population control could end up with a greater number of seats in Parliament. The southern states that promoted family planning faced the possibility of having their seats reduced.

“In 2002-08, Delimitation was done based on the 2001 census, but the total number of seats in the Assemblies and Parliament decided as per the 1971 Census was not changed”.

The 87th Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the delimitation of constituencies on the basis of 2001 census and not 1991 census. However, this can be done without altering the number of seats allotted to each state in the Lok Sabha.

The Constitution has also capped the number of Lok Shaba & Rajya Sabha seats to a maximum of 550 & 250 respectively and increasing populations are being represented by a single representative.