Delimitation Commission

Why is in news? Elections will be held in J&K; the Delimitation Commission has ensured that real representatives come to power

The Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a commission established by the Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act.

After every census, the Parliament will enact a Delimitation Act, as per Article 82.

As per Article 170, the states also get classified into territorial constituencies after every census, according to the said Act. Once the Act is enacted, the Central Government sets up a Delimitation Commission.

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

The main task of the commission is redrawing the boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a current census.

The representation of each State is not changed during this exercise. However, the number of SC and ST seats in a state has changed under the census.

The present delimitation of constituencies has been done based on the 2001 census under the provisions of the Delimitation Act, 2002.

The Commission is a powerful and independent body whose orders cannot be challenged in any court of law.

The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, modifications are not permitted.

Delimitation commissions have been set up four times in the past; 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002, under the Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

According to the 84th amendment, the present constituencies carved out based on the 2001 census shall continue to be in operation till 2026.

Delimitation challenges: The present delimitation is based on the census of 2001, whereas the total number of seats in the Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies is fixed as per the census of 1971.

The Constitution of India has put a cap on the maximum number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 550 and Rajya Sabha to 250. Therefore an increasing number of populations are being represented by a single representative.