Former minister demands creation of 22 new districts in Maharashtra

Amid the movement for a separate Vidarbha, a new demand for creation of 22 new districts in Maharashtra has cropped up.

Though the demand has not gone well with State Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse and other political parties, a senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra Minister for EGS, Nitin Raut has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urging him to look into the matter.

In the letter, Raut, a staunch protagonist of separate Vidarbha, said there is a scope for creating 22 new districts in the state.

While demanding these new districts, he pointed out that the previous Congress-led government in Maharashtra had indeed started the process that now needs to be completed.

In such a probability, the new districts that could be created in Vidarbha are: Katol (Nagpur), Bramhapuri, Chimur (Chandrapur ), Pusad (Yavatmal), Khamgaon (Buldana), Achalpur (Amravati), Aheri (Gadchiroli) and Ashti (Wardha), the memorandum demanded.

There are presently 11 districts in Vidarbha and the Congress leader insisted eight more districts could come in to being existence.

Raut said the general opinion is that de-centralization empowers people. Also, smaller districts make administration easier, efficient and also ensure better development process, he said.

In Vidarbha, the feeling of alienation has led to demand for a separate state, Raut said.

The Congress leader, a three-term MLA, said that in June 2013, the issue of creating Palghar district in Thane came up for discussion in the cabinet meeting.

The then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had instructed the then Chief Secretary to prepare a report on re-organisation of the districts.

However, nothing materialised in this direction, he added.