The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Women's Reservation Bill introduced by the government in the lower house of the Parliament on Tuesday. It now awaits approval of the Rajya Sabha to come into force. The bill grants 33 per cent reservation to women in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. However, even if it gets the Rajya Sabha nod, discussions on which will be taken up on Thursday, the Women's Reservation Bill or Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, might face some hurdles before becoming a law. The draft of the bill stated that the proposed legislation would come into effect only after the exercise of the next delimitation.
Since delimitation cannot be conducted without the latest data on the population of the country, the implementation of the proposed legislation cannot take place at least till the end of 2026 - the year after which the next census is to be carried out. Hence, the Lok Sabha nod to the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' is only the first step among the many towards its implementation.
The text of the women's reservation bill states, "Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provision of this Part or Part VIII, the provisions of the Constitution relating to the reservation of seats for women in the House of the People, the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Legislative Assembly of the National Capital Territory of Delhi shall come into effect after an exercise of delimitation is undertaken for this purpose after the relevant figures for the first census taken after commencement of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Amendment) Act, 2023 have been published and shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of fifteen years from such commencement."
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All you need to know about Delimitation:
What Is Delimitation?
Delimitation refers to the redrawing of boundaries of territorial constituencies on the basis of change in population in a country or a province having a legislative body. Given the fact that a state's population forms the basis of the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha, delimitation is carried out taking into account the data gathered during a prior census.
Who Carries Out Delimitation?
The demarcation of boundaries of parliamentary and Assembly constituencies is carried out by a Delimitation Commission appointed by the Central government in accordance with the latest Delimitation Act passed by the Parliament on the basis of the data gathered during the recent census.
Powers Of Delimitation Commission
The Delimitation Commission is an all-powerful independent body whose orders cannot be challenged before any court of law. The copies of its orders are laid before Parliament and the concerned state Assembly. However, no modifications are permissible therein by the members of the said legislative body.
Basis Of Present Constituencies
The present constituencies were carved out in 2002 on the basis of 2001 census data, and shall continue to be in their present form till the first census after 2026, the Election Commission says.
Previous Delimitation Carried Out In India
Delimitation has been carried out in India four times in the past - in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, in 1963 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1962, in 1973 under the Delimitation Act, 1972 and in 2002 under Delimitation Act, 2002.
Delimitation In Assam and Jammu & Kashmir
Currently, delimitation is underway in the states of Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. The Election Commission announced in December that it was starting the implementation of delimitation in Assam.