New Delhi: Election Commission of India has decided to initiate the delimitation exercise of the Assembly and parliamentary constituencies in Assam as per Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The move comes in the wake of a request from the Ministry of Law & Justice, Government of India, to the ECI in this regard, the commission said in a statement on Tuesday.
The commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel has directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam to take up the matter with the state government to issue a complete ban on the creation of new administrative units w.e.f. January 1, 2023, till the completion of the delimitation exercise in the state.
As mandated under Article 170 of the Constitution, census figures (2001) shall be used for the purpose of readjustment of parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in the state. Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be provided as per Articles 330 & 332 of the Constitution of India.
The commission will design and finalize its own guidelines and methodology for delimiting the constituencies. During the delimitation exercise, the commission will keep in mind the physical features, existing boundaries of administrative units, facility of communication, and public convenience and as far as practicable, the constituencies will be kept as geographically compact areas.
Once a draft proposal of the delimitation of constituencies in the State of Assam is finalized by the commission, it shall be published in the Central and state Gazettes for inviting suggestions/objections from the general public. In this regard, a notice will also be published in two vernacular newspapers of the state specifying the date and venue for public sittings to be held in the state.
The Election Commission of India has been requested by the Ministry of Law & Justice to conduct the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies in Assam vide letter No.H-11019/06/2022-Leg. II dated November 15, 2022. Under the provisions of the Delimitation Act of 1972, the last delimitation of constituencies in the State of Assam was done on the basis of census figures, in 1971 by the then Delimitation Commission in 1976.
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