The demarcation of 19 new districts in Rajasthan, for which Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot made an announcement on March 17, has led to resentment among people in several regions. After the protests staged at many places, the residents of Sambhar, Phulera and Jobner near Jaipur clashed with the police while opposing merger of their towns in the new Dudu district.
The ruling Congress has found it difficult to meet the demands linked with regional identity and people’s aspirations ahead of this year’s Assembly election. Following Sunday’s violence near Dudu, in which the villagers hurled stones at policemen and the latter resorted to lathicharge, Mr. Gehlot convened a meeting with the Congress MLAs of the region at his official residence here on Monday.
The proposed division of Jaipur into four districts – Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Kotputli-Behror and Dudu – has posed a challenge before the State government. The MLAs and Ministers from Jaipur district told Mr. Gehlot that the people’s sentiments were against the inclusion of their areas in the newly carved out districts.
‘Political damage’
While the Congress legislators affirmed that the demarcation of new districts without taking the people into confidence might lead to “political damage”, Agriculture Minister Lalchand Kataria, representing the Jhotwara seat, said people in the rural areas did not want to get separated from Jaipur district. Mr. Gehlot was clearly told that the State capital should not be divided into segments.
The Chief Minister reportedly gave his consent to a proposal to rename Dudu as Jaipur Rural. A final decision in this regard will be taken by the high-level committee headed by former civil servant Ram Lubhaya, which had recommended the formation of new districts.
Mr. Gehlot later told reporters that Jaipur City would be formed as a district and the remaining rural areas of the capital would become a new district. “Jaipur Rural has become very large and its population has also increased over the years. We will figure out a way for this,” he said. The capital city was earlier proposed to be divided into north and south.
Food and Civil Supplies Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, elected from Jaipur’s Civil Lines, said the Jaipur City would comprise 250 wards of Heritage and Greater Municipal Corporations and all the eight Assembly segments of the city. He said the State government would respect the people’s sentiments in the matter.
Bandhs and protests
The people in half-a-dozen towns, which were not upgraded as districts, had resorted to bandhs and protests for several days after Mr. Gehlot made the announcement during the Budget session in the Assembly. The local Congress workers in these areas apprised the State leadership of their disappointment. The claim for creating new districts was made at about 50 places in 24 districts during the last decade.
Most of the new districts have been created in the regions where the Congress had registered victory in the 2018 Assembly election. While Sikar, the home district of Pradesh Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra, is one of the three new divisions – the two others being Banswara and Pali – only one district, Salumbar, was created in southern Rajasthan’s Mewar region, which is a BJP stronghold.
The new districts carved out on the basis of the recommendations of the Ram Lubhaya committee were Anupgarh, Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Dudu, Gangapur City, Jaipur North, Jaipur South, Jodhpur East, Jodhpur West, Kekri, Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal, Neem Ka Thana, Phalodi, Salumbar, Sanchore and Shahpura.
The eligibility criteria for the formation of new districts included geographical area, population, distances within the existing districts and administrative requirements. The committee, which began its exercise in March 2022, considered memorandums and charters of demand received from the public, elected representatives and legislators before making its recommendations.
