15th district coming up in Kerala by merging these two taluks? govt is in favour of forming new district, says CM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Neyyatinkara District Formation Committee has filed a mass petition seeking the formation of a new district by merging the Neyyattinkara and Kattakkada taluks in Thiruvananthapuram district. The mass petition containing half a lakh signatures collected from the people demanding the formation of the new district was submitted to the Chief Minister by Neyyatinkara District Formation Committee chairman G Balakrishna Pillai. The Chief Minister said that the government is in favour of forming a new district.

The fact that the state suffered heavy losses in the central allocation and integrated development as no new districts were formed after the formation of Kasargod in 1984 was brought to the attention of the Chief Minister. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have made huge gains during this period by increasing the number of districts. It has been found at the national level that the formation of districts by including small areas can effectively reduce poverty and promote development, the petition said.

The petitioners said that only the formation of the new district can bring a change in this region, where people with the lowest per capita income in the state are residing.