New Delhi: In order to streamline the administrative structure in Delhi and make government services more accessible to the people, the new government has decided to reorganize the revenue districts. As part of this significant change, the number of existing 11 districts in Delhi will be increased to 13, and the names and boundaries of several districts will also be changed. A proposal in this regard, prepared with the approval of Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, has been sent to the Cabinet. In the coming days, after the Delhi Cabinet gives its in-principle approval to the proposal, it will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor for final approval.
The Revenue Department, which falls under the Delhi government, has divided the area into 11 districts. Currently, there are 11 districts in Delhi. The MCD has divided the entire Delhi into 12 zones for its convenience. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has divided Delhi into 15 districts to improve law and order. The Rekha government is now converting MCD zones into districts to eliminate boundary disputes between government departments and facilitate better coordination.
Delhi will now have a total of 13 districts instead of 11. Twelve districts will be created based on MCD zones, while one district will be created by combining Delhi Cantt and the NDMC area. According to the proposal submitted by the Revenue Department to the Cabinet, the names of the new districts have been proposed based on MCD zones. However, the final decision on the names will be made by the government in the Cabinet meeting.
“This is not the first time the number of districts in Delhi is being increased. Such changes have been made in the past to meet administrative needs and the growing population. This government move is an important initiative towards making Delhi’s governance more accountable and effective to citizens. These changes will provide better services to the people.” – Juhi Arora, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
Administrative Reforms: The Biggest Reason
Further advancing administrative reforms, the Delhi government plans to establish a mini-secretariat in each district. This mini-secretariat will enable almost all administrative functions, except those related to law and order, to be completed in a single building. Currently, there are 11 districts in revenue, while the MCD has 12 zones. Each zone has different boundaries. This creates difficulties in coordinating various government schemes, development projects, and monitoring. Therefore, the government is consolidating zone and district boundaries to convert DM offices into mini-secretariats. New districts are being created based on the boundaries of all 12 MCD zones, while two others are being created by combining the NDMC area and Delhi CAT into a new district.
“Delhi Police has 15 districts. We work in coordination with both the Delhi government and the MCD. We will continue to operate in the same manner even after the new districts are created.” This exercise will be beneficial for providing better facilities to the people and facilitating administrative work.” – Devesh Srivastava, Special Commissioner, Delhi Police
Key Changes: 11 to 13 Districts
The main objective of the proposed reorganization is to make administrative work more efficient and relieve the public from frequent visits to district headquarters. Under this plan, the number of subdivisions will also increase from 33 to 39. The government believes that having smaller districts will reduce disputes and speed up government work.
New Districts and Name Changes
This reorganization emphasizes bringing the boundaries of municipal corporation territorial zones in line with revenue districts. The major proposed changes include: Two new districts, East Delhi and Northeast Delhi, will be reorganized to create two new districts named Shahdara North and Shahdara South. A large part of Southwest Delhi will be separated to create a new Najafgarh district. The Sadar zone will be included in the new Old Delhi district, which will include areas like Sadar Bazaar and Chandni Chowk. New names have been suggested for nine other districts, including Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Rohini, Narela, and Keshavpuram. The names of Central, New Delhi, South, and West districts are suggested to remain unchanged.
