Clause  (1) of article 81 of the Constitution provides that the  House
of  the People shall consist of not more than 500 members to be chosen
by  direct election from territorial constituencies in the States  and
not more than 25 members to represent the Union territories, chosen in
such  manner  as  Parliament may by law provide.  As a result  of   the
enactment of the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971 (81 of
1971),  the  total  number of seats in the Lok Sabha allotted  to   the
States  has  increased to 506, six more than the permissible limit  of
500  under article 81.  The actual total number of elected members  of
the  present  Lok Sabha is 522 (489 from the fifteen major States,  17
from  the six smaller States of Himanchal Pradesh, Jammu and  Kashmir,
Manipur,  Meghalaya,  Nagaland  and  Tripura   each  of   which  has  a
population  of  less  than  six millions and 16 from  the   nine  Union
territories).

2.   Clause  (2) of article 81 of the Constitution lays down that  for
the  purposes of sub-clause (a) of clause (1), there shall be allotted
to  each  State a number of seats in the House of the People  in  such
manner  that  the ratio between that number and the population of  the
State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States and that each
State  shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such manner
that  the  ratio between the population of each constituency  and  the
number  of  seats allotted to it is, so far as practicable,  the  same
throughout  the State.  Under clause (3) of article 81, the expression
"population" means the population as ascertained in the last preceding
census  of which the relevant figures have been published.  Article 82
enjoins that on the completion of each census, the allocation of seats
in the House of the People to the State and the division of each State
into  territorial constituencies shall be readjusted by such authority
and  in such manner as Parliament may by law determine.  In  pursuance
of  article 82, Parliament had enacted the Delimitation Act, 1972  and
the  Delimitation  Commission  has been constituted to  undertake   the
necessary  task of the readjustment envisaged in article 82.  It  will
be noticed that adherence to the principles laid down in clause (2) of
article  81 by the Delimitation Commission in undertaking readjustment
as  enjoined by article 82 on the basis of the 1971-census figures may
have  the  effect  of affecting the number of seats  allotted  to   the
States in the House of the People.  It is felt that it would be better
to  ensure  that any readjustment and consequent allocation  of  seats
does  not  adversely affect the existing number of seats  allotted  to
each  State in the House of the People and to achieve this purpose  it
would be necessary to increase the strength of the Lok Sabha suitably.

3.   In  order  to ensure that there is no reduction in  the  existing
representation  in  the House of the People in respect of any  of  the
States,  clause  2  of  the Bill seeks to amend article 81  so   as  to
increase  the upper limit for representation of the States from 500 to
525.   The  opportunity is taken to decrease the limit for  the   Union
territories  from  25 to 20, as the existing representation for  Union
territories is only 16.  Government also consider it necessary to make
an  amendment  in  clause  (2)  of article  81  to   provide  that  the
provisions  of sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of article 81 shall not be
applicable  to any State so long as its population does not exceed six
millions.   This is to ensure that the existing representation in  the
Lok  Sabha  is  maintained  for  the smaller  States   referred  to  in
paragraph 1 above.

4.  Article 330 of the Constitution relates to reservation of seats in
the  Lok  Sabha  for  Scheduled  Castes  and  Scheduled   Tribes.   The
provisons of this article have, however, been made inapplicable to the
State  of  Nagaland on the ground that it has a  predominantly  tribal
population.   According  to  the  1971-census,   88.6   per  cent.   of
Nagaland's   population   belong  to   the   Scheduled   Tribes.    The
corresponding  figures  for  the  State of  Meghalaya  and   the  Union
territories  of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram are 80.5 per cent., 79.0
per  cent.  and 94.3 per cent.  respectively.  Government,   therefore,
consider  that the provisions of article 330 should not apply also  to
the  predominantly  tribal units of Meghalaya, Arunachal  Pradesh  and
Mizoram.  Similarly, it is considered that as in the case of Nagaland,
there  need  be  no reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes  in   the
Legislative  Assembly of the State of Meghalaya and the article 332 of
the Constitution may be amended suitably.  Clauses 3 and 4 of the Bill
seek to achieve these objects.

NEW DELHI;                                       H. R. GOKHALE.

The 18th April, 1973.

THE CONSTITUTION (THIRTY-FIRST AMENDMENT) ACT, 1973