Rajasthan government dissolves nine districts in cabinet meeting

The Bhajanlal government considered some of the newly proposed districts from the previous administration impractical and believed they would place an additional burden on Rajasthan, which was not in the state's interest. 

The following 9 districts are dissolved in the state: 

1. Dudu
2. Kekri
3. Shahpura
4. Neemkathana
5. Gangapur City
6. Jaipur Rural
7. Jodhpur Rural
8. Anupgarh
9. Sanchore

After the changes, there will be 41 districts and 7 divisions in total.

The following districts will remain intact:

1. Balotara
2. Beawar
3. Deeg-Kumher
4. Didwana-Kuchaman
5. Kotputli-Behror
6. Khairthal-Tijara
7. Phalodi
8. Salumber

Out of the 20 new districts announced by the previous Congress government, only eight will remain functional. The new divisions created during the previous administration will not be retained.

Other decisions of cabinet meeting:

• Restructuring of Rajasthan's Gram Panchayats.
• Employment will be provided to 1 lakh unemployed individuals in 2025
• New beneficiaries will be added to the Food Security Scheme.
• The score from the Common Eligibility Test (CET) exam will now be valid for three years, instead of the previous one-year validity.

High-level expert committee formed in July 2024

On July 1, the Rajasthan government formed a high-level expert committee tasked with reviewing the essential aspects related to the existence of the newly created districts and divisions. The committee was asked to submit its report by August 31. The report was submitted a day earlier, on August 30, to Dinesh Kumar, the Principal Secretary of Revenue, Rajasthan government. On September 2, 2024, the committee presented its findings to the Cabinet committee, which then made a decision based on the presentation.

To create the report, Dr Lalit K Pawar, the chairman of the high-level expert committee, stated that 10 key points were considered. Additionally, the committee gathered suggestions from the affected public representatives and organisations in the districts.

Key facts:

• The committee was formed on July 1, with a deadline of August 31 to submit the report, which was delivered on August 30.
• On September 2, the committee will give its presentation to the Cabinet Committee.
• Reports were prepared for 17 out of the 19 districts.
• The report includes inputs from more than 45 legislators, over 10 MPs, 5 ministers from both the central and state governments, more than 50 delegations, over 25 village heads, and 5 district heads.
• Administrative-level suggestions were also gathered from district collectors and commissioners.
• The report is based on 10 key points, and over 5,000 kilometres were travelled to understand the ground realities.
• The two districts where the committee could not visit were Salumber, due to law and order issues, and Neemkathana, as the district collector was unavailable.