The States Reorganisation Act, 1956

This Act may be called the States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,― (a) "appointed day" means the 1st day of November, 1956; (b) "article" means an article of the Constitution; (c) "assembly constituency", "council constituency" and "parliamentary constituency" have thesame meanings as in the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43 of 1950); (d) "corresponding new State" means, in relation to the existing State of Bombay, MadhyaPradesh, Mysore, Punjab or Rajasthan, the new State with the same name, and in relation to theexisting State of Travancore-Cochin, the new State of Kerala; (e) "corresponding State" means, in relation to the new State of Bombay, Madhya Pradesh,Mysore, Punjab or Rajasthan, the existing State with the same name, and in relation to the new Stateof Kerala, the existing State of Travancore-Cochin; (f) "Election Commission" means the Election Commission appointed by the President underarticle 324; (g) "existing State" means a State specified in the First Schedule to the Constitution at thecommencement of this Act; (h) "law" includes any enactment, ordinance, regulation, order, bye-law, rule, scheme,notification or other instrument having the force of law in the whole or in any part of the territory ofIndia; (i) "new State" means a 1*** State formed by the provisions of Part II; (j) "notified order" means an order published in the Official Gazette; (k) "population ratio", in relation to the successor States of an existing State, means such ratio asthe Central Government may by notified order specify to be the ratio in which the population of thatexisting State as ascertained at the last census is distributed territorially among the several successorStates by virtue of the provisions of Part II; (l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (m) "principal successor State" means (i) in relation to the existing State of Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras or Rajasthan, theState with the same name; and (ii) in relation to the existing States of Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat and Travancore-Cochin,the States of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, respectively; (n) "sitting member" in relation to either House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a Statemeans a person who, immediately before the appointed day, is a member of that House; (o) "successor State", in relation to an existing State, means any State to which the whole or anypart of the territories of that existing State is transferred by the provisions of Part II, and includes inrelation to the existing State of Madras, also that State as territorially altered by the said provisionsand the Union; (p) "transferred territory" means any territory transferred from an existing State to anotherexisting State or to a new State by the provisions of Part II; (q) "treasury" includes a sub-treasury; and (r) any reference to a district, taluk, tahsil or other territorial division of a State shall be construedas a reference to the area comprised within that territorial division on the 1st day of July, 1956.

(1) As from theappointed day, there shall be added to the State of Andhra the territories comprised in (a) the districts of Hyderabad, Medak, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgondaand Mahbubnagar; (b) Alampur and Gadwal taluks of Raichur district and Kodangal taluk of Gulbarga district; (c) Tandur taluk of Gulbarga district; (d) Zahirabad taluk (except Nirna circle), Nyalkal circle of Bidar taluk and Narayankhed taluk ofBidar district; (e) Bichkonda and Jukkal circles of Deglur taluk of Nanded district; and (f) Mudhol, Bhiansa and Kuber circles of Mudhol taluk of Nanded district; and (g) Adilabad district except Islapur circle of Boath taluk, Kinwat taluk and Rajura taluk; andthereupon the said territories shall cease to form part of the existing State of Hyderabad and the Stateof Andhra shall be known as the State of Andhra Pradesh. (2) The territories referred to in clauses (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of sub-section (1) shall be included in,and become part of, Mahbubnagar, Hyderabad, Medak, Nizamabad and Adilabad districts, respectively,in the State of Andhra Pradesh.

As from the appointed day, thereshall be added to the State of Madras the territories comprised in the Agastheeswaram, Thovala,Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluks of Trivandrum district and the Shencottah taluk of Quilon district; andthereupon (a) the said territories shall cease to form part of the existing State of Travancore-Cochin; (b) the territories comprised in the Agastheeswaram, Thovala, Kalkulam and Vilavancode taluksshall form a separate district to be known as Kanya Kumari district in the State of Madras; and (c) the territories comprised in the Shencottah taluk shall be included in, and become part of,Tirunelveli district in the State of Madras.

(1) As from the appointed day, there shall be formed a new 1***State to be known as the State of Kerala comprising the following territories, namely:― (a) the territories of the existing State of Travancore Cochin, excluding the territories transferredto the State of Madras by section 4; and (b) the territories comprised in― (i) Malabar district, excluding the islands of Laccadive and Minicoy, and (ii) Kasaragod taluk of South Kanara district; and thereupon the said territories shall cease to form part of the States of Travancore-Cochin and Madras,respectively. (2) The territories specified in clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall form a separate district to be knownas Malabar district in the State of Kerala.