The State government is likely to take a fresh look soon at the reorganisation of districts taken up by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) government as it feels that was an erratic exercise lacking any logic.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy indicated it during an interaction with reporters recently stating that the government was planning to appoint a judicial commission to suggest to reorganise the existing 33 districts and if needed to reduce the number. The government may go with 17 districts based co-terminus with the 17 Parliamentary seats in Telangana.
Mr. Reddy said the reorganisation should not be done in haste or without proper planning like the previous government did and only a judicial commission would be the right way to give a new shape to the present districts. He had earlier said that some of the districts were created to suit political needs and some to satisfy some people rather than the genuine needs of the State.
Telangana was formed with 10 districts but the BRS government increased them to 33 with some of them so small that their population was lesser than a town. Districts such as Jayashnakar-Bhupalpally and Mulugu have populations lesser than six lakhs.
While the Revanth Reddy government also feels that Sircilla was made a district to satisfy Mr. K.T. Rama Rao, son of then chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and current Sircilla MLA. Merging the districts to improve administration is the idea behind the new government’s decision to reduce the districts.
Though there is no clear indication from the government, sources said the Chief Minister favoured 17 districts, but may consider 20 districts. A final decision however would be left to the commission which will look into the population, resources, boundaries and distances from the State capital.
Mr. Revanth Reddy is displeased with the BRS government for merging Kodangal town, which is near the Karnataka border, into the newly created Vikarabad district, taking it out of the Mahabubnagar district. He feels the identity of his constituency had been changed by KCR with political motives and distance Mr. Reddy from Mahabubnagar.
