On March 17, 2023, Ashok Gehlot, Chief Minister (CM) of Rajasthan announced the state government’s decision for the formation of 19 new districts and 3 new divisional headquarters in the State.
Key Points:
i.New Districts: The 19 new districts include Anoopgarh (Ganganagar); Balotra (Barmer); Beawar (Ajmer); Kekri (Ajmer); Deeg (Bharatpur); Deedwana-Kuchaman (Nagaur); Dudu (Jaipur); Gangapur City (Sawai Madhopur); Jaipur North; Jaipur South; Jodhpur East; Jodhpur West; Kotputli-Behror (Jaipur-Alwar); khairthal (Alwar); Neem kaThana (Sikar); Phalodi (Jodhpur); Salumber (Udaipur); Sanchore (Jalore); and Shahpura (Bhilwara).
ii.3 new divisional headquarters: Banswara, Pali and Sikar
iii.The new districts are being created for the first time since 2008 and due to the addition of new districts the total number of districts in the state was increased to 50,
- With 50 districts, Rajasthan now has the third highest number of districts in the country after Uttar Pradesh (71) and Madhya Pradesh (53) as of March 2023.
New District formation – Additional info:
i.Jaipur will now be divided into four smaller districts such as Jaipur North, Jaipur South, and Dudu.
ii.Kotputli, which is also a part of Jaipur, was now being merged with Behror in Alwar to create another district.
iii.The district formation was based on the report of the high-level committee which was formed to study the formation of new districts.
iv.Cause: Being the largest state, several districts face difficulties as their headquarters are far away over a hundred km. Thus the new formation of districts will overcome this difficulty.
Other Key Announcements:
i.The state govt has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the first phase of the development of infrastructure for the new districts.
ii.The state government has increased the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance scheme package from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
iii.The CM also announced a 10% increase in the pension of state pensioners above the age of 75 years.
iv.Rs 100 crore was allocated for the construction of a corridor in Jaipur’s Govinddev Ji Temple on the lines of Ujjain’s Mahakal.
v.The CM also announced the preparation of a DPR (Detailed Project Reports ) for the development of famous temples such as Pushkar, Tripura Sundari, Sanvaliyaji, Salasar, Khole ke Hanuman Mandir, Tanot Mata and Shrinathji.
vi.MLA Amin Khan was declared the best MLA for 2022 and Anita Bhadel was declared as the best MLA for 2023.
Recent Related News:
On November 1, 2022, Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi visited Rajasthan’s Banswara district, where he attended a public programme ‘Mangarh Dham ki Gaurav Gatha’ at Mangarh Hill, Banswara, Rajasthan, to pay homage to the sacrifices of the unsung tribal heroes and martyrs of the freedom struggle.
About Rajasthan:
Governor – Kalraj Mishra
Wild Life Sanctuary – Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary, Tal Chhapar Sanctuary
Zoological Park – Nahargarh Biological Park (Jaipur Zoo), Machia Biological Park (Jodhpur Zoo)
