Rajasthan cabinet annuls 9 districts formed by Gehlot government

The Rajasthan cabinet on Saturday annulled the creation of nine of the 17 new districts and three divisions formed by the previous Congress-led government last year, officials familiar with the matter said.

- Senjuti Sengupta

JAIPUR:

The decision was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Saturday. The nine annulled districts are Shahpura, Dudu, Jaipur Rural, Neem-Ka-Thana, Kekadi, Gangapur City, Jodhpur Rural, Anoopgrah, and Sanchore. Three divisions in Pali, Banswara, and Sikar were dissolved as well. The state will now have 41 districts and seven divisions.

"Rajasthan came into existence in 1959 as a separate state with 26 districts. Till 2023, only seven new districts were formed considering the convenience of the people and the administration. Hence, it is clear that the sudden formation of as many as 17 districts and also three new divisions were not a need of the hour. It was also not planned as per the uniform parameters for district formation as notified by the Union government..." parliamentary affairs minister Jogaram Patel said while addressing reporters after the meeting. "The government has, therefore, decided to suspend nine of those new districts while keeping the rest after an expert review. We have also suspended the three new divisions."

The state government has decided to keep eight new districts including Beawar, Balotra, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal-Tijara, Phalodi, and Salumber.