State govt gearing up to forge new districts? Political ‘moves’ suggest so!

Jaipur: It seems that Chief Minister Ashok gehlot has made up his mind to form new districts in the state and it is highly possible that an announcement in this regard may be made in the next budget session. This has been hinted by the fact that the state government has called back the Chairman of the committee formed to undertake the exercise regarding new districts - Ram Lubhaya - from the USA immediately. Ram Lubhaya had gone to America for two months to meet his children there and was scheduled to return in January. The committee had to give its report in March 2023. But the Chairman is now returning next week and it is believed that perhaps in the ongoing months, a report will be submitted to the government. Notably, in March 2022, the Gehlot government had formed the committee under the chairmanship of retired IAS Ram Lubhaya and on September 13, 2022, the committee’s time was further extended by six months, till March 2023. No new district has been formed in Rajasthan over the past 14 years as the last district - Pratapgarh - was formed by Vasundhara Raje government on 26 January 2008. In 2014, during the second tenure of Vasundhara government, a committee for new districts under retired IAS Parmesh Chandra was formed and in 2018, the committee submitted its report as well, but the Gehlot government denied accepting the report and rather formed a new committee under Ram Lubhaya.

The Ram Lubhaya committee has received proposals for 51 new districts and on an average one or two new districts have been demanded from current districts. Making so many districts will not be possible and the state government has to decide on how many districts will have to be formed. Several ministers and even MLAs have been pressuring the government to raise the demand of a new district in their respective area and over the past one month the situation has become more tense. MLA Madan Prajapat has been walking bare foot over his demand to make Balotra a district, out of the current Barmer district. Similarly, minister Rajendra Yadav has even issued a threat that if by January 2023, Kothputli is not declared a district, he will resign from his minister as well as legislature privileges. Similarly, Suresh Modi has demanded Neem Ka Thana, Rajendra Gudha has demanded Udaipurwati, Alok beniwal for Shahpura, Deependra Singh for Sri Madhopur, Babulal Nagar for Dudu, Nirmal Kumawat for Sambhar Lake. The list is extremely long. Political analysts claim that the state government, to pacify their MLAs and ministers and to set their political score, could announce new districts soon. Sources reveal that Balotra, Kothputli, Phalodi, Deedwana, Beawar and Bhiwadi could be the half a dozen districts that can be announced by the state government.