Palghar to be Maharashtra's newest district

New district to come into existence on August 15

The Maharashtra cabinet on Friday paved the way for formation of the state’s newest district, Palghar, out of Thane. Palghar would be Maharashtra’s 36th district and would come into existence on August 15.

The announcement in this regard was made by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan late on Friday evening.

Political parties and non-government organisations  have been demanding Thane district’s bifurcation for three-and-a-half decades. Two years ago, a section of the ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance had made a pitch for a trifurcation of Thane into Thane, Palghar and Vasai districts. However, the government did not consider it, following strong opposition from various sections.

The primary reasons behind the demands for Thane’s division are its size and spread, which make administration quite a challenging affair.

The area of the district is 9,558 sq km.

According to the 2011 Census of India, Thane is the most populated district in the nation, with 11,054,131 inhabitants. Its population is 9.84 per cent of Maharashtra’s population and its density is 1,157 people per sq km.

Currently, Thane district comprises 15 talukas — Thane, Kalyan, Murbad, Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Vasai, Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, Dahanu, Palghar, Talasari, Jawhar, Mokhada, Vada and Vikramgad. The district has 24 Assembly seats and they are key for the Congress-NCP alliance during the forthcoming Assembly election slated for September-October.

Thane is also the third-most industrialised district in Maharashtra.

According to the information available with the state revenue department, 51.75 per cent of Thane’s work force is engaged in agriculture and allied activities, 6.19 per cent in manufacturing, service and cottage industries and the remaining 30.69 per cent in other activities. Women comprise 22.89 per cent of the district’s total work force.

With the proposed division, Thane district will now include the rapidly-growing urban talukas of Thane, Kalyan, Murbad, Bhiwandi, Shahapur, Ulhasnagar and Ambernath. On the other hand, Palghar district will comprise the tribal-dominated, coastal talukas of Dahanu, Palghar, Talasari, Jawhar, Mokhada, Vada, Vikramgad and Vasai. The government will dissolve the Thane Zilla Parishad while the existing Thane District Central Cooperative Bank will continue to exist for both the districts.

The proposed division of Thane will put an additional burden of Rs 430 crore on the state exchequer.

On Friday, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena attacked the government for keeping them in the dark on the politically-sensitive issue of Thane’s bifurcation. The Shiv Sena alleged that Thane was being divided for purely political convenience.