In a politically contested move, the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Rajasthan on Saturday (December 28, 2024) dissolved nine of the 17 districts as well as three divisions created in 2023 during the previous Congress regime. The decision was taken at a State Cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma here.
The desert State will now have a total of 41 districts and seven divisions. The three divisions that were annulled are Pali, Sikar and Banswara. The State government retained eight districts in view of “administrative necessity”.
It also rejected the formation of three new districts (in addition to the 17) ahead of the 2023 Assembly election, as no Gazette notification was issued for them.
“The new districts and divisions were created with an eye on political gain… The Congress government ignored key factors such as financial resources, population density, geographical area and administrative requirements. Several districts did not even have six tehsils,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Jogaram Patel said after the Cabinet meeting.
‘Undemocratic move’
The Opposition Congress condemned the decision, saying it was an act of “imprudence and political vendetta”. Pradesh Congress Committee president Govind Singh Dotasra said the party would launch a massive agitation from January 1, after the conclusion of the week-long State mourning [following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh], with the demand for restoration of new districts. He described the decision as anti-people and undemocratic.
The districts that have been abolished are Dudu, Kekri, Shahpura, Neem Ka Thana, Gangapur City, Jaipur Rural, Jodhpur Rural, Anupgarh and Sanchore. The districts that have been retained are Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal-Tijara, Phalodi and Salumbar.
Mr. Patel said the office buildings, administrative infrastructure and officials’ posts were yet to be created in the new districts despite the lapse of more than a year. “Attempts to establish 18 departmental posts in these districts have turned out be extremely burdensome… It is evident that the Congress wanted to reap political benefits,” he said.
The Minister affirmed that the decision was based on the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former civil servant Lalit K. Panwar, which had concluded that most of the new districts were not viable. Prior to this, the State government had appointed a Cabinet Sub-Committee in June this year with the mandate to examine the status of new districts and divisions in the “current perspective”.
Though Collectors and Superintendents of Police were appointed in the newly created districts, they were functioning without proper office buildings and with limited resources, while there were public protests and disputes among several districts about their boundaries and jurisdiction. Mr. Patel said all of these factors were taken into account while abolishing nine districts.
Following the Congress government’s decision, the people in several parts of the State had resorted to bandhs and protests for several days against either the proposed inclusion of certain areas or for ignoring the demand for new districts. The BJP, then the principal Opposition party, had questioned the creation of new districts and termed it a waste of resources.
While the demand for new districts was raised at about 50 places in 24 districts during the last decade, most of the new districts were created in regions where the Congress had registered victory in the 2018 Assembly election.
While Sikar, the home district of PCC chief Dotasra, was one of the three new divisions, only one district, Salumbar, was created in southern Rajasthan’s Mewar region, which is a stronghold of the BJP. The State government has retained Salumbar district.
Taking exception to the BJP government’s move, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said his government had appointed all officers and sanctioned budget for the new districts. “After the separation of Chhattisgarh from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan became the largest State, but the administrative units were not reorganised in that proportion. Despite being smaller than Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh has 53 districts,” he said.
Meanwhile, no decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting on the cancellation of the police sub-inspector recruitment examination of 2021, marred by allegations of paper leak and irregularities. There had been persistent demand from many quarters for cancelling it. Mr. Patel said the matter was not on the agenda, as it was sub judice following the High Court’s order to maintain status quo on the recruitment process.
Published – December 28, 2024 10:18 pm IST
