Subdivisions
The state's 14 districts are distributed among Kerala's six regions: North Malabar (far-north Kerala), South Malabar (northern Kerala), Kochi (central Kerala), Northern Travancore, Central Travancore (southern Kerala) and Southern Travancore (far-south Kerala). The districts which serve as the administrative regions for taxation purposes, are further subdivided into 63 taluks; these have fiscal and administrative powers over settlements within their borders, including maintenance of local land records. Taluks of Kerala are further divided into 1453 revenue villages. Consequent to the 74th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the Local self-government Institutions are to function as the third tier of Government and it constitutes 14 District Panchayats, 152 Block Panchayats, 978 Grama Panchayats, 60 Municipalities, 5 Corporations and 1 Township. Mahé, a part of the Indian union territory of Pondicherry, though 647 km away from it, is a coastal exclave surrounded by Kerala on all of its landward approaches.
In India, self-governance of the major cities rests with Municipal corporations; there are five such bodies governing Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kollam and Thrissur. While Thiruvananthapuram the state capital with a population of 750,000, is the largest city of Kerala, Kochi which is the most densely populated city in the state holds the second position. Kochi metropolitan area is the largest urban agglomeration in Kerala. According to a survey by economics research firm, Indicus Analytics, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kochi, Thrissur and Kannur found place in the 10 best cities in India to spend life; the survey used parameters such as health, education, environment, safety, public facilities and entertainment to rank the cities.
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