West Bengal To Have 7 New Districts out of 5 existing districts

Total Number Of  West Bengal Districts To 30, Up From The Existing 23

The West Bengal Cabinet on Monday approved the setting up of seven new districts - Berhampore, Kandi, Sunderbans, Bashirhat, Ichamati, Ranaghat and Bishnupur - in the state will be carved out of five existing districts — Murshidabad, Nadia, South & North 24 Parganas, & Bankura taking the total number of districts to 30, up from the existing 23. As per reports, the decision for these seven districts to be formed was taken for streamlining smooth administrative operations. This comes as the Trinamool Congress on Monday undertook a significant reorganisation of its district-level organisations in front of the panchayat elections in West Bengal that are due for next year. Party sources said the reshuffle is also aimed at sending a signal to the party cadres at all levels to distance themselves from corrupt practices. The arrest of former state minister Partha Chatterjee and his close friend Arpita Mukherjee in connection with the multi-crore teacher recruitment scam is a fresh development that should be taken into consideration

Formation Of New Districts in West Bengal  

Both South and North 24 Parganas districts will be combined to form a new district called Sundarban; North 24 Parganas district will create two new districts, Ranaghat, a city and municipality in Nadia district, would become the fourth new district; the current Bankura district will be amalgamated to form a new district called Bishnupur; and Mizoram's Baharampur and Kand. Ichhamati in the Bongaon subdivision and an unnamed district in Basirhat.

Other States Where Districts Were Established in The Past

From time to time, States keep creating new districts. Indian states have been creating a lot of new districts as the number of districts around the country has been going up steadily over the years. Compared to the 593 districts counted in the 2001 Census, there were 640 in 2011. India currently has more than 775 districts. Most districts in the nation are in Uttar Pradesh (75), then Madhya Pradesh (52). Goa, by contrast, has only 2 districts. However, the number of districts is not always based on the size or population of the state. Generally speaking, the assumption is that smaller units would facilitate governance and benefit the populace by placing the executive and legislative branches closer to and more approachable to them. Local needs might occasionally be the driving force for the creation of new districts. In order to keep a promise he made during his Assembly election campaign in 2019, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually inaugurated 13 new districts in his state in April. For instance, West Bengal only has 30 districts despite having 42 Lok Sabha MPs, even after the establishment of the 7 extra districts & Andhra Pradesh, There is just one more district than there are Lok Sabha seats, despite the recent doubling of the number of districts to 26. Only Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, and West Bengal have more Lok Sabha members with 39 than Tamil Nadu, which has one fewer district. In general, the largest districts in India by area cover sparsely populated areas — for example, Kachchh in Gujarat, and Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Barmer, & Jodhpur in Rajasthan.

Critics View on Establishment of New Districts

Critics cited that the state government had a target of creating the new districts before the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. This is because the administration wants the system for delivering services to be perfect before the Lok Sabha elections so that it can defeat the BJP. Small districts can mitigate the anti-incumbency effect by offering citizens better services. Also, creation of the districts would depend on how quickly the state could secure approval from Calcutta High Court. Permission from the high court is needed because in new districts, new district courts & other judicial establishments must be set up. The administration must submit perfect recommendations to the high court to receive rapid approval. Another issue the state government must face is the crisis of funds. Setting up of new districts requires several infrastructure facilities, including the administrative headquarters & residences of senior officials. A new district's infrastructure is estimated to cost between Rs 200 and Rs 300 crore. Is the cash-strapped state government able to spend such a big sum all at once?