Dimapur, April 7 (MExN): Breaking its silence on the delimitation storm, the state government today issued a statement highlighting that the reasons for the ongoing exercise. The statement while elaborating the reasons also assured to the people that before finalization of the issue, the Delimitation Commission will have consultations with the people and the public will have sufficient time and ‘plenty of opportunity to ventilate their views.
The Parliament had passed the Delimitation Act 2002, amended in 2003, for constituting the Delimitation Commission to affect readjustment of each state into territorial constituencies for elections on the basis of the census as ascertained in 2001. However this was to be without increasing the number of seats of assembly or parliamentary constituencies assigned to each state, the statement issued by Nagaland Chief Secretary Lalhuma stated. The Nagaland legislative Assembly passed a resolution in 2003 urging the Center to amend the Act to keep Nagaland out of the purview of the delimitation exercise as in the same lines of J&K, till the ongoing Naga dialogue is concluded and Nagaland’s seats are increased as resolved in 1999. A meeting of all recognized political parties was also held on August 5, 2004 and decided to request the Center to exclude Nagaland from the Act. A request that fresh census be carried out in those areas where growth rate is more than the average rate in the state, be made, the government said.
The state government also observed that the growth rate projected in the 2001 census was “abnormally and phenomenally” high in some areas. Against the decadal national growth rate of 23%, some districts in their rural areas showed a decadal growth of more than 100%, it stated. The lowest growth rate registered at Kohima at 43%. “Whereas a higher growth rate may be logical in the urban areas due to urbanization, a high growth rate exceeding 100% in rural areas is found to be quite untenable” the government observed. The state cabinet in 2005 had also observed the abnormal growth rate in some areas of the state will have serious repercussions in matters of delimitation of constituencies. Hence the 2001 census was rejected and requested the Center to carry out a fresh census.
In view of ‘several requests’ from both government and non-government agencies, the delimitation commission tentatively agreed that inter-district transfer of seats may be avoided and that delimitation be confined within each district to remove ‘inequalities in population’ between the constituencies with respective districts, it stated. For this purpose the commission had given a working paper to form the basis for discussion among members and associated members. The state government considered this as a major victory and decided to carry out adjustment of assembly constituencies within each district” the government stated.
However, adjustments within the districts is left to the “wisdom” of the people and is to be implemented only after consultations with the people, under the supervision of the DC of the respective districts, it reiterated. Most of the districts have brought out their proposals for readjustments which will be forwarded to the commission, it assured.
“In view of this aspect and the above mentioned points, the state government appeals to all sections not to agitate but to understand the stand of the state government which has been trying its best to reach an amicable solution to the problem of delimitation” the statement appealed.
