The Delimitation Commission meeting slated for November 18 is expected to take a decision in this regard. The Commission, chaired by the Chairperson of the Kerala State Election Commission and having four Government Secretaries as members, will consider the draft drawing sketches of the Corporation with the newly-added wards.

The sketches will be submitted before them by the respective secretaries of the local bodies, which are being reconstituted. The Corporation additional secretary Radhakrishna Kurup has been designated to create a draft sketch of the Corporation area with the newly-added panchayats. The sketches will be based on the guidelines and specifications already issued by the Delimitation Commission.

By any means, the Corporation will cross the figure of 100 wards (which is one step to becoming a metro) and is expected to gain at least 110 wards. Last time, when five panchayats were added to the Corporation (during the term of Sivankutty as Mayor) the local body had gained 22 new wards. The five panchayats added then were Nemom, Thiruvallom, Attipra, Kadakampally and Ulloor.

Sreekariam, Kazhakkoottam and Vattiyoorkavu being big grama panchayats in profile will add to the giantness of the local body after delimitation. The other two panchayats to be added to the Corporation are Vizhinjam and Kudappanakunnu.

Kovalam with its tourism, Vizhinjam with its development dreams and Kudappanakunnu which houses the Collectorate are surely assets for the Corporation. It can now dream of more riches in the way of Central funds and government aid, with increase in revenue flow automatically ensured.

However, the uproar against attaching Attipra to Corporation is not to be forgotten. The public agitation had lasted for sometime, the possibilities of which cannot be written off in the case of the new to-be-added panchayats too.

The draft will, however, be put to public front for discussion once it’s published. The suggestions and recommendations from all corners will then be accessed by the District Collector, who will hold hearings to decide on them.

Another time-consuming process that needs to be done is the revision of the voters’ list in the newly-added panchayats before the declaration of the elections to the local bodies which will happen sometime in September 2010.

There are widespread complaints that the voters’ list in the added wards like Attipra and Kadakampally have still not been revised even after being attached to the Corporation for years now. The issues in the voters’ lists have to be resolved and all formalities of delimitation have to be completed with no time loss so that the new heads of local bodies can take charge before October 2, 2010 (which is the deadline set).

As for citi-zens in the newly-added wards, nothing new will happen in their lives, except maybe for the increase in taxes. Roads, water, electricity and housing issues shall continue, whoever holds the whip.