Kerala passes ordinance to increase 1,200 new wards

Thiruvananthapuram, May 20 (IANS) A special cabinet meeting here on Monday chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan passed an ordinance to add one new ward in all the local bodies in the state.The ordinance will now be sent to the Governor for his nod.As per this ordinance, the total number of wards will increase from around 21,900 to 23,100 in the 2025 local election.As of now, there are 1,200 local bodies in the state comprising 941 grama panchayats, 152 block panchayats, 14 district panchayats, 87 Municipalities and six Corporations.The ordinance has directed the State Election Commission to take steps for delimitation to add another 1,200 wards.The committee to be set up under the State Election Commissioner has to submit its report in six months.The last time the full-fledged delimitation took place was in 2010, while in 2015 it was a limited exercise.The Congress-led opposition has criticised the CM for not taking the opposition in confidence and said the Vijayan government did not hold any customary discussion with the opposition.--IANSsg/dpb

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