What is Delimitation?
1.
It
is the process of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and State Legislative
Assemblies based on recent Census data.
2.
This
act ensures that each seat has almost equal number of voters.
3.
The
system of elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies are
based on the delimitation of territorial constituencies after each census.
Territorial constituencies:
Each state is divided into territorial constituencies for the purpose
of holding direct elections to the Lok Sabha, in such a way that:
1.
Uniformity
of representation between different states.
·
The
number of seats allotted to each state in such a manner that the ratio between
the number of seats allotted in the Lok Sabha and the population of a state
shall be the same for all the states (not applicable to states with less than 6
million population).
2.
Uniformity
of representation between different constituencies in the same state.
·
Each
state is divided into territorial constituencies such that the ratio between
the population of each constituency and the number of seats allotted to the
state is the same throughout the state.
3.
124th
Amendment Act, 2019: Extended the Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribes by another term of 10 years till January 25, 2030.
Delimitation Act, 2002:
1.
Article
82 and 170:
The constitution of India provides for the
readjustment and the division of each state into territorial constituencies
(Parliamentary and State constituencies) on the basis of 2001 census.
2.
Article
330 and 332:
The number of seats reserved for the Schedule castes
and Scheduled Tribes to the Lok Sabha and Legislative assemblies of the states
on the basis of the 2001 census.
3.
The
present delimitation of the parliamentary and the assembly constituencies are
based on the 1971 census.
a.
42nd
Amendment Act, 1976
The 1971 population data was freezed for delimitation and distribution of the seats to different states for 25 years due to imbalances in the population growth between the northern and southern states of India.
b.
A
Delimitation commission was constituted in 2002 after the enactment of
Delimitation Act,2002 for delimitation using 2001 census.
i.
No
redistribution of Lok Sabha seats across state boundaries.
ii.
The territorial constituencies within the
states were delimited based on 2001 census data (84th Amendment Act,
2001).
iii.
The
total number of Lok Sabha seats and the different legislative assembly seats
continued to be based on 1971 census data.
iv.
This
recommendation specified that no delimitation shall be carried out until after
the first census after 2026, due to persisting issue of population imbalance
(84th Amendment Act, 2001)
·
The
northern states showed a decennial growth rate of 12-15% while the southern
states showed decennial growth rates between 6-10%.
|
1.
The Parliament has the authority to decide
the total number of Lok Sabha seats and the legislative assemblies of the
state.
2.
The Delimitation commission shall determine
the distribution of number of seats among the states and within the states. |
