The process for formation of 19 new districts in Rajasthan, which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced in the State Assembly during the budget session on March 17, has received a fillip with the appointment of Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) to 15 of them. The OSDs will assist in the task of demarcating boundaries and inclusion of geographical areas in the districts.
The total number of districts in the country’s largest State has increased to 50 with the carving out of new districts, while three new divisions have also been created. New districts were formed ahead of this year’s Assembly election after a gap of 15 years since Pratapgarh was separated from Chittorgarh and created as a district in 2008.
The orders for sending Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers as OSDs to new districts were issued on Monday night along with the transfers of several Collectors and Principal Secretaries. The Congress government’s decision to assign OSDs, instead of Collectors, to new districts was perceived as a move to first take up the work of strengthening infrastructure in the fresh administrative units.
Following protests in several parts of the State against either the proposed inclusion of certain areas or ignoring the demand for new districts, the State government faces the challenge of dealing with the factors of regional identity and people’s aspirations. However, the stature of MLAs cutting across party lines has increased in the constituencies which will form part of new districts.
People in half-a-dozen towns, which were not upgraded as districts, resorted to bandhs and protests for several days, while the local Congress party workers in these areas apprised the State leadership of their disappointment. Demands for new districts have been made at about 50 places in 24 districts during the last decade.
The State government seems to have put on hold the division of Jaipur and Jodhpur districts, as no OSDs were appointed to the proposed Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Jodhpur East and Jodhpur West districts.
The new districts carved out on the basis of the recommendations of a high-level committee were Anupgarh, Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Dudu, Gangapur City, Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Jodhpur East, Jodhpur West, Kekri, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal, Neem Ka Thana, Phalodi, Salumbar, Sanchore and Shahpura.
Prominent among the IAS officers who were shifted as OSDs were Rajasthan Public Service Commission’s Secretary Harji Lal Atal, sent to Sanchore; Swachh Bharat Mission’s Director Pratap Singh, appointed at Salumbar, Revenue Board’s Member Khajan Singh, shifted to Kekri; and Commissioner (Horticulture) Shubham Chaudhary, sent to Kotputli-Bheror.
Significantly, most of the new districts have been created in regions where the Congress won in the 2018 Assembly election. While Sikar, the home district of Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, is one of the three new divisions – the two others being Banswara and Pali – only one district, Salumbar, was created in southern Rajasthan’s Mewar region, which is a stronghold of the BJP.
The exercise to carve out new districts began in March 2022 with the appointment of a five-member committee, headed by former civil servant Ram Lubhaya, which examined the subject based on merit. The committee considered memorandums and charters of demand received from the public, elected representatives and legislators before making its recommendations.
The eligibility criteria for the formation of new districts include geographical area, population, distances within the existing districts and administrative requirements. A committee headed by retired IAS officer Parmesh Chandra was also appointed in 2014 during the previous BJP regime, but there was no progress after it submitted its report.
