The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Rajasthan government on Saturday canceled at least nine of the 17 new districts and all three new divisions created by the previous Congress government ahead of the state assembly elections last year, officials said.
Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma approved this decision in the cabinet meeting on Saturday. With the latest decision, there will now be 41 districts and 7 divisions in Rajasthan. The nine districts whose membership has been canceled by the Cabinet include Shahpura, Dudu, Jaipur Rural, Neem Ka Thana, Kekri, Gangapur City, Jodhpur Rural, Anupgarh and Sanchore, while three new divisions Pali, Banswara and Sikar have also been suspended. Is.
“Rajasthan came into existence as a separate state in 1959 with 26 districts. Till 2023, only seven new districts were created keeping in mind the convenience of the people and administration. Therefore, it is clear that the sudden formation of 17 districts And the 3 new divisions were also not the need of the hour, it was also not planned according to the same parameters as the district formation notified by the Central Government such as administrative advantage, behavioral and cultural similarity and population,” Parliamentary Affairs said. Minister Jogaram Patel addressing the press after the meeting
He said, “Therefore, the government has decided to cancel 9 of those new districts after expert review, while retaining the remaining 8 new ones. We have also suspended 3 new divisions. Rajasthan now has 33 There will be 41 districts including the old ones and 8 new ones, and also 7 divisions as before.”
The government has decided to continue with Beawar, Balotra, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Dudu, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal-Tijara, Phalodi and Salumber while suspending nine new ones.
Just months before the assembly elections in the state, the then CM Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in the state announced 17 new districts on August 5 last year, taking the total number of districts in Rajasthan to 50 and two big cities again. The determination was made. Districts – Jaipur and Jodhpur, as per the recommendation of Ram Lubhaya Committee. A total of three new divisions were also notified in the state.
Later, on October 6, just a day before the election code of conduct was to be implemented by the Election Commission of India, Gehlot also announced three more new districts – Malpura, Sujangarh and Kuchaman. However, officials said they could not be informed due to conflicts with the COC’s timing.
However, the initiative has created a fresh political stir ahead of the assembly elections as the BJP alleged that the move to create new districts is a futile exercise aimed at boosting the chances of Congress candidates in the upcoming elections.
After the BJP came to power in the state following a landslide victory in the state elections last December, the government announced a review of several schemes launched by the Gehlot government as well as the formation of new districts and divisions.
On June 13, the state revenue department also issued a new order announcing that CM Sharma has constituted a cabinet committee of five ministers to review the formation of new districts. The five members include Deputy CM Prem Chand Bairwa, Cabinet ministers Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Kanhaiyalal Meena, Suresh Rawat and Hemant Meena.
Bairava was also made the convenor of the five-member subcommittee.
Later, on June 29, the government also constituted a new committee of officers led by an ex-IAS officer to review the formation of 17 new districts notified by the previous Congress government in August last year, officials familiar with the matter said. Said .
“Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has approved the formation of a committee regarding reorganization of districts in the state. The committee headed by former IAS officer Lalit K. Panwar has given its approval to the Cabinet sub-committee regarding reorganization of new districts. Will submit the report.” The Chief Minister’s Office said in an official statement on June 29.
After conducting surveys in all the new districts, the Panwar committee has submitted its final report to the Cabinet sub-committee on August 31. Commenting on the survey methodology, Panwar told HT, “The committee has considered 10 parameters to conduct the survey including geographical location, population, administrative structure, economic backwardness, distance between district headquarters and tehsils, effective laws and Maintaining order are some of the key parameters.
Meanwhile, on September 18, the government also removed Education Minister Madan Dilawar and appointed Deputy Chief Minister Prem Chand Bairwa as the convenor of the cabinet subcommittee. Officials said the Dilawar-led committee has taken final consideration of the Panwar report and presented it before the CM on Saturday, following which the latest decision to suspend nine districts and three divisions was taken.
Minister Patel further said in the press conference, “This decision was never political. We have not judged the parameters based on the favor of BJP and Congress. The committee is of the firm opinion that the decision to form the Congress government has not been taken.” Many of the new districts do not even have proper collector buildings considering any revenue resources and other administrative infrastructure.”
He said, “This was against the interest of the government. It was clear from the Panwar Committee report that we do not need those districts at this time.”
Commenting on the development, the Congress meanwhile has also announced the launch of massive protests against the move after January 1, when the period of state mourning due to the demise of former Prime Minister Dr Man Mohan Singh ends.
In the press conference, Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara said, “This is an inhuman decision taken by the government today.” How did they reach this decision when one committee has ruled in favor of the formation and one against it?” It appears that the CM has got a fresh slip from Delhi to take this step as we all know. That he has been visiting there for the last few days, but we all thought that PM Narendra Modi can gift some new development projects to Rajasthan, what did we get?
He also alleged: “The CM has only thought about his own interest. He did not suspend Deeg district because it was separated from his hometown Bharatpur. But, he suspended Dudu who was the Deputy CM of Bairwa district. He was also removed.” The sub-committee should first look into this fact.”
Announcing the mass movement, Dotasara further said, “The state mourning for former Prime Minister Late Singh is not over yet. Once it is over, the Congress will take to the streets after January 1 and make this government realize that they What have you done?” Not happy with this decision. New collectors, superintendents of police and other staff have been appointed in all those districts, what will happen to them now?”
During this, Leader of Opposition Tikaram Julie said, “Former CM Vasundhara Raje had also spoken in favor of smaller and new administrative units in her speeches in the Assembly during the previous BJP government. It was during his tenure that a small district like Pratapgarh was formed. This shows that BJP also understands the importance of small districts. Why does the BJP government want to end the facilities provided to the people of the new districts? ,
He further said, “The new year is about to start and it is time to take new thinking and steps towards development. Abolishing new districts will not only cause problems to the people, but this step will also be a step backward in the direction of development. May go.” ,
In a post on Twitter, Gehlot commented, “The BJP government’s move to suspend 9 out of 17 new districts created by our government is an example of indiscretion and mere political vendetta. During our tenure, on March 21 A committee was formed.” In 2022, the districts were reorganized under the leadership of senior IAS officer Ramlubhaya, in which reports were received from dozens of districts, after examining all these reports, the committee finalized its proposal – based on which we decided to form those districts. decision made.
He said, “After the bifurcation of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan became the largest state in the country. Yet, the administrative units were not reorganized keeping that ratio in mind. Despite being smaller than Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh Today there are 53 districts.
According to Gehlot, before the formation of new districts, the average population per district in Rajasthan was 35.42 lakh, spread over an average of 12,147 sq km, which came down to 15.35 lakh per district, spread over 5268 sq km, after the notification of new districts. “Smaller units are always good for better and faster administrative delivery,” he said.
“The districts which the BJP government has canceled on the pretext of being small, is also unfair. The size of the district depends on the geographical conditions there. The success of the government scheme is also more in the districts with less population. It is easy There is also.” To maintain law and order in small districts, because the police reach there is more.
