List of districts in Kerala

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Districts of Kerala, south India.

The Indian state of Kerala borders with the states of Tamil Nadu on the south and east, Karnataka on the north and the Arabian Sea coastline on the west. The Western Ghats, bordering the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost continuous mountain wall, except near Palakkad where there is a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap.[1] When the independent India amalgamated small states together Travancore and Cochin states were integrated to form Travancore-Cochin state on 1 July 1949. However, Malabar remained under the Madras province. The States Reorganisation Act of 1 November 1956 elevated Kerala to statehood.[2]

The state of Kerala is divided into 14 revenue districts. On the basis of geography the state's districts are generally grouped into three parts :- The North Kerala districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram; the Central Kerala districts of Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam; and the South Kerala districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta.[3] Such a regional division occurred being part of historical Kingdoms of Kochi, Travancore and British Province of Malabar. The Travancore region is again divided into three zones as Northern Travancore (Hill Range) (Idukki and parts of Ernakulam), Central Travancore (Central Range) (Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam) and Southern Travancore (South Range) (Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam). Almost all of the districts in Kerala have the same name as the important town or city in the district, the exception being Idukki district, Wayanad district& Ernakulam district. The 14 districts are further divided into 75 taluks, and 941 Gram panchayats. Some of the districts and their towns were renamed in 1990 like Thiruvananthapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum), Kollam (Quilon or Venad), Alappuzha (Alleppey),[4][5] Thrissur (Trichur or Thirushivaperur), Palakkad (Palghat), Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kannur (Cannanore).

Administrative structure

Kerala State has been divided into 14 districts, 75 taluks, 152 community development blocks, 941 Gram panchayats, 6 corporations and 87 municipalities.[6]

A district is governed by a District Collector, who is an officer from Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Kerala cadre and is appointed by the State Government of Kerala. Functionally the district administration is carried on through the various Departments of the State Government each of which has an office of its own the district level. The District Collector is the executive leader of the district administration and the District Officers of the various Departments in the district render technical advice to him in the discharge of his duties. The District Collector is a key functionary of Government having large powers and responsibilities. He has a dual role to both as the agent of the Government of the state and also as the representative of the people in the district. He is also responsible for the maintenance of the law and order of the district.[7]

Other than urban units such as town municipalities and rural units called Gram panchayats, other government administrative subdivisions includes taluks and 'community development blocks' (also known as CD blocks or blocks). A taluk consists of urban units such as census towns and rural units called gram panchayats. The Tahsildar in charge of each taluk is primarily the Revenue Official responsible for the collection of revenue of the taluk, but he is also expected to be in direct contact with the people at all levels and to have first hand knowledge of the conditions of every village under his jurisdiction. The Tahsildar is assisted in each village by village officers and village assistants.[8] A block also consists of such as census towns and Gram panchayats. A block is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), who is appointed by the Government of Kerala. A gram panchayat, which consists of a group of villages, is administered by a village council headed by a Gram Panchayat President.

A District Superintendent of Police, better known as a Superintendent of Police, heads the District Police organization of Kerala Police. This is as per the Police Act of 1861, which is applicable to the whole of India.[9] The Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service.[10] For every subdivision, there is a Subdivision Police, headed by a Police officer of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police.[11] Under subdivisions, there are Police Circles, each headed by an Inspector of Police.[11] A Police Circle consists of Police Stations, each headed by an Inspector of Police, or in case of rural areas, by a Sub-Inspector of Police.[11]

The Kerala High Court has the jurisdiction of the state of Kerala. Each of the districts has a District Court.

History

At the time of formation, Kerala had only five districts: Malabar (part of the erstwhile Madras State), Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam and Thrissur (together constituting the erstwhile Travancore-Cochin). On 1 January 1957, the Malabar district was divided into the districts of Kozhikode, Palakkad, and Kannur. Alappuzha district was carved out of erstwhile Kottayam and Kollam districts on 17 August 1957.[4] Ernakulam district was formed on 1 April 1958. Malappuram district was formed on 6 June 1969 with Ernad and Tirur taluks of the erstwhile Kozhikode district and Perinthalmanna and Ponnani taluks of Palakkad district. Idukki district was formed on 26 January 1972 with Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermedu taluks of the erstwhile Kottayam district and Thodupuzha taluk of the erstwhile Ernakulam district. Wayanad district was formed on 1 November 1980 as the 12th district in Kerala by carving out areas from Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Pathanamthitta district was formed on 1 July 1983 carving out the entire Pathanamthitta taluk and nine villages of Kunnathur taluk from Kollam district, entire Thiruvalla taluk and part of Chengannur and Mavelikkara taluks from Alapphuzha district and parts of Idukki district. Kasaragod district was formed on 24 May 1984 as the 14th revenue district by carving out a major portion of the erstwhile Kannur district.

Alphabetical listing

Code[12] District Headquarters[13] Established[14] Subdivisions Population (2011)[13] Area[15] Population Density (2011) District Collector
AL Alappuzha Alappuzha 17 Aug 1957[4] 2,121,943 1,414 km2 (546 sq mi) 1,501/km2 (3,890/sq mi) R Girija
ER Ernakulam Kakkanad 1 Apr 1958[16] 3,279,860 3,068 km2 (1,185 sq mi) 1,069/km2 (2,770/sq mi) M.G. Rajamanickam
ID Idukki Painavu 26 Jan 1972[18][19] 1,107,453 4,358 km2 (1,683 sq mi) 254/km2 (660/sq mi) Dr. A.Kowsigan
KN Kannur Kannur 1 Jan 1957[20] 2,525,637 2,966 km2 (1,145 sq mi) 852/km2 (2,210/sq mi) P Bala Kiran
KS Kasaragod Kasaragod 24 May 1984[21][22] 1,302,600 1,992 km2 (769 sq mi) 654/km2 (1,690/sq mi) P S MOHAMMED SAGIR
KL Kollam Kollam 1 Nov 1956[24]
( )[25][26]		 2,629,703 2,491 km2 (962 sq mi) 1,056/km2 (2,740/sq mi) Shaninamol
KT Kottayam Kottayam 1 Nov 1956[27]
( )[25]		 1,979,384 2,208 km2 (853 sq mi) 896/km2 (2,320/sq mi) U. V. Jose
KZ Kozhikode Kozhikode 1 Jan 1957[29] 3,089,543 2,344 km2 (905 sq mi) 1,318/km2 (3,410/sq mi) N. Prasanth
MA Malappuram Malappuram 16 Jun 1969[31] 4,110,956 3,550 km2 (1,370 sq mi) 1,158/km2 (3,000/sq mi) T Bhaskaran
PL Palakkad Palakkad 1 Jan 1957[32] 2,810,892 4,480 km2 (1,730 sq mi) 627/km2 (1,620/sq mi) Mary Kutty
PT Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta 1 Nov 1982[34][35] 1,195,537 2,637 km2 (1,018 sq mi) 453/km2 (1,170/sq mi) Hari Kishore
TV Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram 1 Nov 1956[25][37] 3,307,284 2,192 km2 (846 sq mi) 1,509/km2 (3,910/sq mi)
TS Thrissur Thrissur 1 Nov 1956[38]
(1 Jul 1949)[25]		 3,110,327 3,032 km2 (1,171 sq mi) 1,026/km2 (2,660/sq mi) Dr. A Kausikan
WA Wayanad Kalpetta 1 Nov 1980[39] 816,558 2,131 km2 (823 sq mi) 383/km2 (990/sq mi) Keshavendra Kumar
Total  —  —  —  — 33,387,677 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi) 859.11/km2 (2,225.1/sq mi)  —

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ As per GO(P) No.133/90/RD dated 7.2.90, Government of Kerala
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Archived January 26, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Here 'Established' means the year of establishment as a district of Kerala. If the district was formed earlier than the formation of the state of Kerala, 1 Nov 1956 will be considered as the day of establishment of the district.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ as per Government notification No 54131/C2/71/RD dated 24 January 1972, Government of Kerala
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ As per GO.(MS)No.520/84/RD dated 19.05.1984 , Government of Kerala
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Note: This date means the day when the district was initially formed , even before the formation of the state of Kerala. Hence 1 Nov 1956 will be considered as the day of formation of district in the state of Kerala
  26. ↑ Paravur, Kollam
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ As per GO (MS) No.1026/82/(RD) dated 29.10.1982, Government of Kerala
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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