Delimitation: 129 new wards in grama panchayats in Ernakulam

There will be a total of 1,467 wards under 82 grama panchayats in Ernakulam, according to the final notification issued after the redrawing of boundaries in the district.

As many as 129 new wards have been formed after the completion of the exercise at the grama panchayat level. Earlier, the total number of wards under grama panchayats in the district was 1,338, according to official sources.

A total of 1,990 wards have been formed in the district across 82 grama panchayats, 13 municipalities, and the Kochi Corporation. Of them, 147 are new wards. Earlier, the district had only 1,843 wards. The Kochi Corporation will now have 76 wards instead of the existing 74, while municipalities will have 447 wards as against the earlier 421.

The Delimitation Commission had received over 600 complaints related to ward delimitation in grama panchayats. The Commission had constituted special committees to probe the complaints. The boundaries were redrawn after addressing the complaints. A field-level inquiry was done on the complaints initially before the complainants were heard by the committees.

A majority of the complaints were related to alleged errors in the assessment of boundaries, issues connected to ward names, omission of households, and population imbalances among wards. The findings of the inquiry committees were submitted to the Commission along with the recommendations made by the district administration.

Several complaints in the district were related to the delimitation of coastal wards. There were allegations that the redrawing of boundaries was done for the sake of a couple of wards. The public had also raised complaints over digital maps used in the exercise. The final notification after ward delimitation related to 13 municipalities in Ernakulam and the Kochi Corporation is expected soon.

Ward delimitation was done on the basis of the 2011 census, whereas the existing wards were created on the basis of the 2001 census.

Published - May 30, 2025 01:40 am IST