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.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.
The state of Kerala is divided into 14 revenue districts.
On the basis of geographical, historical and cultural similarities,
the districts are generally grouped into North Kerala (Kasaragod, Kannur,
Wayanad, Kozhikkod, Malappuram) , Central Kerala (Palakkad, Thrissur, Eranakulam, Idukki)
and South Kerala (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam).
Almost all of the districts in Kerala have the same name as the important town or
city in the district, the exception being Wayanad district.
The 14 districts are further divided into 62 taluks, 1453 revenue villages and 1007 Gram panchayats.
Some of the districts and their towns were renamed in 1990 like
Thiruvananthapuram (formerly known as Trivandrum), Kollam (Quilon), Alappuzha (Alleppey),
Thrissur (Trichur or Thrishivaperur), Palakkad (Palghat), Kozhikode (Calicut) and Kannur (Cannanore).
Administrative Structure
Kerala State has been divided into 14 districts, 21 revenue divisions, 14 District Panchayats,
63 taluks, 152 CD blocks, 1453 revenue villages, 999 Gram panchayats, 5 corporations and 53 municipalities.
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.
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. 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 West Bengal Police.
This is as per the Police Act of 1861, which is applicable to the whole of India.
The Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service.
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.
Under subdivisions, there are Police Circles, each headed by an Inspector of Police.
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.
The Kerala High Court has the jurisdiction of the state of Kerala.
Each of the districts has a District Court.
