NEW DELHI, Dec 28: The Bhajan Lal Sharma cabinet in Rajasthan on Saturday at the Chief Minister’s office under the chairmanship of Chief Minister decided to redefine the districts and divisions created by the previous Congress government, after which Rajasthan will now have a total of 7 divisions and 41 districts, according to the release.
Cabinet Minister Jogaram Patel briefed the media about the decisions taken in the meeting. The previous government led by Mr Ashok Gehlot in its last year decided to create 17 new districts and 3 new divisions. In this context, the Revenue Department issued a notification on August 5, 2023, for the creation of these districts and divisions.
Three new districts were announced just one day before the 2023 Assembly elections’ model code of conduct was implemented, and their notification could not be issued. Mr Patel claimed that the previous government had created new districts and divisions purely for political gain.
The creation of new districts did not take into account important factors such as financial resources, administrative needs, law and order, or cultural harmony. The previous government did not create the necessary offices or buildings for the new districts, nor did it provide budgets and other necessary resources.
He further mentioned that, to review the previous government’s imprudent decision, the state government formed a Cabinet sub-committee and a high-level expert committee headed by retired IAS officer Dr Lalit K Panwar. The expert committee submitted its report and recommendations on the reorganization of newly created districts and divisions. After considering these recommendations, the Cabinet decided not to retain 9 new districts–Anupgarh, Dudu, Gangapur City, Jaipur Rural, Jodhpur Rural, Kekri, Neem Ka Thana, Sanchore, and Shahpura–along with the 3 newly created divisions–Banswara, Pali, and Sikar. Additionally, the three districts announced just before the election code of conduct–Malpura, Sujangarh, and Kuchaman City–will also be cancelled.
Former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot criticised the decision saying it showed confusion in the mind of the state leadership. “The state government took 1 year to take this decision. From this, it can be guessed how much confusion was in their minds regarding this work… Rajasthan is the largest state in the country… If three divisions were created, then they were created after some thought…In many ways, small districts are beneficial for the public. Gujarat is a state with less population than us (Rajasthan) but still, there are 33 districts there… We took this decision for good governance,” he said.
Rajasthan will have a total of 7 divisions and 41 districts. For the 8 newly retained districts–Phalodi, Balotara, Kotputli-Bahrood, Khairthal-Tijara, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, and Salumber–the state government will provide all necessary financial resources and other amenities to establish the administrative framework.
According to the state government, this will ensure that the common people in these districts will truly benefit from the formation of these districts. He also mentioned that the Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samitis, and Gram Panchayats will also be reorganized.
(Manas Dasgupta)
