Palakkad is one of the fourteen districts of Kerala and has no coastal line. The district opens the state to the rest of the country through the Palakkad Gap with a width of 32 to 40 Kms. Its geographical position, historical background, educational status, tourism hot-spots and above all, the development activities that are carried out, are wide and varied. The district is one of the main granaries of Kerala and its economy is primarily agricultural. The district is also the land of Palmyrahs.
The present Palakkad district, as an administrative unit,was formed on the first of January 1957, comprising of Palakad, Perinthalmanna, Ponnani, Ottapalam, Alathur and Chittur. Later when the Malappuram District was formed excluding Thritala firka of Ponnani Taluk, Mankada firka and excluding Karkidamkunnu & Chetalloor amsoms of Perinthelmanna Taluk are transferred to that district and a new taluk was formed namely Mannarkkad. In 2013, Ottapalam taluk was bifurcated and Pattambi taluk was formed.
At present the Palakkad district consists of 2 revenue divisions, 6 taluks and 157 revenue Villages. There are 7 Muncipalities, 13 block panchayats and 88 village panchayats in district. The District Police Office is situated near by the collectorate. The District headquarters is at Palakkad Town. After the 73rd amendment of Indian Constitution, decentralized planning was implemented in the district and three tier system was formed in Panchayat Raj. The District Panchayat is the top-most tier of the Panchayat Raj System. The District Panchayat is headed by a President and a Vice-President and has an office functioning near the Collectorate.
The district is headed by the District Collector and seated at Collectorate, Civil Station, Palakkad. The District Collector exercises control over the various offices in the district and staff attached to the Collectorate. For the maintenance of the law and order, the District Police Chief assists the District Collector. The District Panchayat President assists the District Collector for the planning and execution of the development programmes for the district.
The business of the government offices of the district is transacted through the various office heads based on the rules of business. Each office consists of District Officer, who is the official head of the office and such other officers and staffs subordinate to him/her assigned with specific duties.
The first District Collector of the district was Sri K. C. Sankaranarayanan IAS , the District Police Chief was Sri. T. K. Bhaskara Marar IPS and the District Panchayat President was Sri. K.V. Vijayadas. Now, the District Collector is Ms. Dr. S.Chitra IAS , the Police Chief is Sri. R.Vishwanadh IPS and the District Panchayat President is K. Binumol