Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has signed the Local Ward Division Bill, previously passed by the state Assembly. On June 10, the state government expedited the passage of two bills—the Kerala Municipality (Second Amendment) Bill and the Kerala Panchayat Raj (Second Amendment) Bill—related to the delimitation of local governing bodies’ wards. These bills were passed without referring them to the assembly’s subject committee or select committee, which is the usual procedure.
Leader of the Opposition, V D Satheesan, urged the Governor not to sign the Bill, arguing that it was passed without proper discussion. Satheesan submitted a letter to the Governor requesting a delay. The Governor then sought clarification from the government, which responded that the Bill needed to be enacted to meet constitutional requirements.
The government subsequently issued a notification to establish a delimitation commission for ward division in local bodies, headed by State Election Commissioner A Shahjahan, with IAS officers Ratan Khelkar, K Biju, S Harikishore, and K Vasuki as members. This move includes the addition of one extra ward in each local body. Following delimitation, gram panchayats will now have a minimum of 14 wards and a maximum of 24, district panchayats will have 17 to 33 divisions, municipalities will have 26 to 53 wards, and Corporations will have 56 to 101 wards.
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