New districts to be merged back in Jaipur and Jodhpur

Jaipur: The new districts formed after dividing state capital Jaipur are expected to be merged again after the expert committee, chaired by retired IAS officer Lalit K Panwar, submits its review report to the appointed cabinet sub-committee.Similarly, Jodhpur, another large urban district, which was redrawn into two—Jodhpur City and Jodhpur Rural—will likely be consolidated. A senior official said, “The committee has completed its field visits to 17 newly formed districts and compiled a report of over 100 pages after incorporating views of the public, administrative officials including district collectors and superintendents of police, and elected representatives. It will submit its report on Friday.”Jaipur was divided into four districts—Kotputli-Behror, Dudu, Jaipur City, and Jaipur Rural. A source said, “The Jaipur Rural district will be discontinued, and the larger Jaipur district may be reinstated. Dudu, which transitioned directly from a panchayat to a district and is now one of the smallest districts in Rajasthan, will also be merged into Jaipur.”For this, the BJP govt had made its intention clear soon after coming to power, as it did not reappoint an OSD or a collector for Jaipur Rural following the removal of the previous officials on Feb 1. Also, the Jaipur collector is also in charge of Dudu district, while the Jaipur Rural SP handles the duties of Dudu SP. “No collector was appointed for Jodhpur Rural either. This urban district will be made one,” added a source.The announcement to form the new districts was made on March 17, 2023, just before the assembly elections, with the districts officially established on Aug 7, 2023. The new districts announced were – Apoongarh, Balotra, Beawar, Deeg, Didwana-Kuchaman, Dudu, Gangapur City, Jaipur (Rural), Kekri, Jodhpur (Rural), Kotputli-Behror, Khairthal-Tijara, Neem ka Thana, Phalodi, Slumber, Sanchore, and Shahpura. “It was found that Shahpura and Slumber district collectors had implemented govt schemes effectively, and largely, people were happy. Also, on Wednesday, a meeting was held at Balotra district collectorate under the chairmanship of Panwar. He commended the district administration for commendable work. These can be retained,” the source said.We also published the following articles recently