Kerala State

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Districts of Kerala

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).

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.

DistrictHeadquartersEstablishedTaluksPopulationAreaDensity
AlappuzhaAlappuzha7 Aug 1957Ambalapuzha
Chengannur
Cherthala
Karthikappally
Kuttanad
Mavelikkara
2,105,3491,414 Km2
(546 sq mi)
1,489/km2
(3,856/sq mi)
ErnakulamErnakulam1 Apr 1958Aluva
Kanayannur
Kochi
Kothamangalam
Kunnathunad
Muvattupuzha
Paravur
3,098,3782,951 km2
(1,139 sq mi)
1,050/km2
(2,719/sq mi)
IdukkiPainavu26 Jan 1972Devikulam
Peerumade
Thodupuzha
Udumbanchola
1,128,6054,479 km2
(1,729 sq mi)
252/km2
(653/sq mi)
KollamKollam1 Nov 1956Karunagappally
Kollam
Kottarakkara
Kunnathoor
Pathanapuram
2,584,1182,498 km2
(964 sq mi)
1,034/km2
(2,678/sq mi)
KannurKannur1 Jan 1957Kannur
Thalassery
Thalipparamba
2,412,3652,966 km2
(1,145 sq mi)
813/km2
(2,106/sq mi)
KasaragodKasaragod24 May 1984Kasaragod
Hosdurg
1,203,3421,992 km2
(769 sq mi)
604/km2
(1,564/sq mi)
KottayamKottayam1 Nov 1956Changanasserry
Kanjirappally
Kottayam
Meenachil
Vaikom
1,952,9012,203/km2
(851 sq mi)
886/km2
(2,295/sq mi)
KozhikodeKozhikode1 Jan 1957Koyilandy
Kozhikode
2,878,4982,345 km2
(905 sq mi)
1,228/km2
(3,181/sq mi)
MalappuramMalappuram16 Jun 1969Eranad
Nilambur
Perinthalmanna
Ponnani
Tirur
Tirurangadi
3,629,6403,550 km2
(1,371 sq mi)
1,022/km2
(2,647/sq mi)
PalakkadPalakkad1 Jan 1957Alathur
Chittoor
Mannarkkad
Ottappalam
Palakkad
2,617,0724,480 km2
(1,730 sq mi)
584/km2
(1,513/sq mi)
PathanamthittaPathanamthitta1 Nov 1982Adoor
Kozhencherry
Mallappally
Ranni
Thiruvalla
1,231,5772,462 km2
(951 sq mi)
500/km2
(1,295/sq mi)
ThrissurThrissur1 Nov 1956Chavakkad
Kodungallur
Mukundapuram
Thalapilly
Thrissur
2,975,4403,032 km2
(1,171 sq mi)
981/km2
(2,541/sq mi)
ThiruvananthapuramThiruvananthapuram1 Nov 1956Chirayinkeezhu
Nedumangad
Neyyattinkara
Thiruvananthapuram
3,234,7072,192 km2
(846 sq mi)
1,476/km2
(3,823/sq mi)
WayanadKalpetta1 Nov 1980Mananthavady
Sultan Battery
Vythiri
786,6272,131 km2
(823 sq mi)
369/km2
(956/sq mi)
T O T A L31,841,37438,863 km2
(15,005 sq mi)
819.32/km2
(2,122/sq mi)