7 new districts in West Bengal — how and why are districts created or abolished in India?

7 new districts in West Bengal — how and why are districts created or abolished in India?

Subject :Polity

Section : Federalism

Context :The West Bengal cabinet has approved the creation of seven new districts in the state. This will take the number of districts in West Bengal to 30 from the existing 23.

Why have these districts been created?

• States keep creating new districts from time to time. The idea everywhere is, generally, that smaller units would make governance easier and would benefit the people by bringing the government and the administration closer to them, and making them more accessible. Sometimes, the decision to create a new district is driven by local demands.
• Smaller administrative units bring better and more transparent governance, and smoother and more effective delivery of welfare.

Who decides on creating or scrapping districts, or changing their boundaries?

• This power lies with the state governments, who can pass a law in the Assembly or simply issue an order and notify it in the gazette. The Centre does not have a say in the matter.
• The central government does play a role, however, when a change of name of a district or railway station is contemplated. The request of the state government in this regard is sent to several central government departments before a no-objection certificate is issued.

Have Indian states been creating a lot of new districts?

• Yes, the number of districts around the country has been going up steadily over the years. The 2001 Census recorded 593 districts, which went up to 640 in 2011. India currently has more than 775 districts.
• Uttar Pradesh has the most districts (75) in the country, followed by Madhya Pradesh (52). Goa, by contrast, has only 2 district However, the number of districts in a state is not always a function of the area of the state, or of its population.
• In general, the largest districts in India by area cover sparsely populated areas — for example, Kachchh in Gujarat, and Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer, and Jodhpur in Rajasthan.