PRAJAPT’s OATH REKINDLES OLD ISSUES!

Jaipur: Congress legislator from Pachpadra Madan Prajapat has taken a bizarre oath that if the state government does not announce making Balotra a district, he will stop wearing shoes and till the time Balotra is made a district, he won’t wear shoes.

Prajapat has received support from Union MoS Agriculture Kailash Choudhary, Forest Minister Hemaram Choudhary and BJP MLA from Siwana Hamir Singh Bhayal.

Considering he is a MLA, it is expected from Prajapat that making a district is no child’s play and naming Balotra as a district by Budget Session is impossible.

For the past one decade, efforts are being made to make new districts in the state and in May 2012, the then government had formed a committee under the chairmanship of, now retired IAS, GS Sandhu.

Later when the government was changed, a new committee under retired IAS Parmesh Chandra was formed in January 2014.

This Committee investigated and studied 50 such claims and found that the Sambhar, Phulera, Kotputli and Shahpura were apt for being made districts.

It is said that the committee had recommended making five new districts, but neither did the government made the Parmesh Chandra report public, nor did it take a final decision on it and since 2018, the report is lying behind locked doors.

Former Revenue Minister Harish Choudhary had clarified in March 2021 in the Assembly that at present, there is no proposal under active consideration with the state government for formation of new districts.

Choudhary had further clarified that the state government hasn’t received any official report from the Parmesh Chandra Committee.

It is worth noting that initially, there were only 26 districts in Rajasthan and on April 15, 1982, Dholpur was made the 27th district. After this, Baran, Dausa, Rajsamand, Hanumangarh, Karauli and at last, on January 26, 2008, Pratapgarh was made the 33rd district.

After this, in the past 13 years, the state has had three governments, none of which has ventured to meddle in the affairs to form a new district.

While Rajasthan, with its population of over 7 crore, has merely 33 districts, neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh has 52 districts for a population of around 8 crore.

It is thus, clear that there is an immediate need to for new districts. Madan Prajapat’s oath to get Balotra the status of a district is to no avail as he will have to remain without shoes, but the issue of forming new districts, which the governments had put on back burner, has been reinvigorated by Prajapat.