New Districts Formed in 2016 in India – A Snapshot

New Districts Formed in 2017

Creation-of-New-Districts

According to the 2011 census, there were 640 districts in the country. By 2016, this number rose to 707. The formation or reorganisation of a new district is the subject matter of state administration. Formation of a new district helps in effective administration and in disbursement of benefits to the people. In 2016, a number of new districts were formed. Here is a state-wise summary of the new districts formed last year.

Telangana

If you thought that the creation of a new state was a historic event, the inauguration of its new districts was even grander. The state turned a fresh page on October 11, 2016, a little over 2 years after it was carved out, with the creation of 21 new districts. With this, the total number of districts in Telangana state now stands at 31. The occasion, coinciding with the Hindu festival Vijay Dashami, was celebrated across the state.

Here’s a list of the new districts in Telangana that were incorporated in the 2016 –

District Headquarters
Bhadradri Kothagudem Kothagudem
Jagtial Jagtial
Jangaon Jangaon
Jayashankar Bhoopalpally Bhoopalpally
Jogulamba Gadwal Gadwal
Kamareddy Kamareddy
Komaram Bheem Asifabad Asifabad
Mahabubabad Mahabubabad
Mancherial Mancherial
Medak Medak
Medchal Malkajgiri
Nagarkurnool Nagarkurnool
Nirmal Nirmal
Peddapalli Peddapalli
Rajanna Sircilla Sircilla
Siddipet Siddipet
Suryapet Suryapet
Vikarabad Vikarabad
Wanaparthy Wanaparthy
Warangal (Rural) Warangal
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri Bhongiri

The other 10 districts (and headquarters) of the state that were initially carved out are – Hyderabad (Hyderabad), Ranga Reddy (Hyderabad), Mahabubnagar (Mahabubnagar), Medak (Medak), Karimnagar (Karimnagar), Adilabad (Adilabad), Nizamabad (Nizamabad), Warangal – Urban (Warangal, Khammam (Khammam), and Nalgonda (Nalgonda). The division of the state into new districts is likely to increase administrative efficiency and the availability of benefits to the people.

Manipur

On December 9, 2016, the state government of Manipur government issued a gazette notification that allowed the administration to split the 9 existing districts and create 7 new ones taking up the total number of districts in the state to 16.

Tengnoupal (Headquarters in Tengnoupal) was carved out of Chandel district, Kakching (Headquarters in Kakching) from Thoubal district, Kamjong (Headquarters in Kamjong) from Ukhrul district, Pherzawl (Headquarters in Pherzawl) from Churachandpur district, Jiribam (Headquarters in Jiribam) from Imphal East district, Kangpokpi (Headquarters in Kangpokpi) from Senapati district, and Noney (Headquarters in Noney) from Tamenglong district.

Here’s a list of the new districts in Manipur that were incorporated in the 2016 –

District Headquarters
Tengnoupal Tengnoupal
Kakching Kakching
Kamjong Pherzawl
Jiribam Jiribam
Kangpokpi Kangpokpi
Noney  Noney 
Pherzawl Pherzawl

The other two districts in the state that were left undivided are – Bishnupur and Imphal West.

All the hill districts were divided to create new district. While the government says that the bifurcation of the districts and the creation of new ones were the result of a long standing agitation (at the cost of numerous lives), the decision has not brought the anticipated joy to the people.

Instead, the state has been witness to a massive protest and an economic blockade by the United Naga Council (UNC). The UNC claims that this division will usurp the ancestral land of the Naga tribe. While the government has posted in senior police officers for the districts, much of the remaining work has been stalled by the protesters.

Assam

By the beginning of the year 2015, there were some 27 districts in the north-eastern state of Assam. In August 2015, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had announced the creation of 5 new districts.

Biswanath district was carved out of Sonitpur, Hojai was formed from Nagaon, Charaideo out of Sivasagar, West Karbi Anglong out of Karbi Anglong, and South Salmara-Mankachar out of Dhubri.

Later, in January 2016, he once more announced the creation of two new districts – South Kamrup (from the existing Kamrup district) and the creation of East Kamrup (from the existing Kamrup Metropolitan district). This brought the total number of districts to 34.

Along with this he also announced the creation of 24 sub-divisions in the state. In April 2016, after many long years, the Indian National Congress lost its foothold in Assam and BJP came to power in the state assembly elections.

Sarbananda Sonowal, the new Chief Minister, announced in October 2016 that the district status bestowed on East Kamrup and South Kamrup would be revoked. The government said that lack of amenities and requisite infrastructure were the reasons such a decision had to be made.

Sonowal’s government had, earlier in September, declared the river island Majuli to be an independent district. This announcement came just a week after Majuli, on the River Brahmaputra, found a place in the Guinness World Records becoming the world’s largest river island. Thus, the total count of districts in the state now stands at 33.

Haryana

In April 2016, a state government sub-committee of Haryana had proposed the creation of three new districts – Charkhi Dadri, Hansi, and Gohana in addition to the 21 existing districts.

On September 18, 2016, the government led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar declared Charkhi Dadri to be the 22nd district of Haryana. “The new district will have two Assembly constituencies — Dadri and Badhra — under its jurisdiction”, said the state’s Agriculture Minister, Om Prakash Dhankhar, who had headed the committee on reorganisation of districts.

Districts Under Consideration

For over a year now, the West Bengal government has been mulling over the creation of new districts in the state. In December 2015, state Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that the state would get 5 new districts – Sunderbans, Bashirhat, Burdwan (Industrial), Jhargram, and Kalimpong.

Early last year, the government said that Jhargram, Asansol and Kalimpong would soon become new districts. Not much has been done on this front despite the TMC having come back to power in the state during the assembly elections of 2016.

 

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Majuli – World’s Largest River Island – Is Now A District