Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday announced his government’s decision to form 19 new districts and three new divisions in the state, earmarking Rs 2000 crore for infrastructure development for them.
This is the first time since 2008 that new districts are being created, bringing the number of districts to 50 in the state.
Gehlot made the announcement at the Rajasthan assembly, which also passed the 2023-24 budget with a voice vote.
He said a high-level committee was formed to study the formation of new districts and the state government received a report. “In this way, the state will now have 19 new districts,” the prime minister said during a budget discussion.
The three new divisions will be in Banswara, Pali and Sikar, he said.
For the new districts and divisions, he proposed a budget of Rs 2000 crore for the first phase of infrastructure implementation and human resource development.
New districts are being formed after 15 years. In 2008, the then Prime Minister Vasundhara Raje had made Pratapgarh a district.
Geographically, Rajasthan is the largest state in the country and some of the places are more than 100 kilometers from their district headquarters, so people face problems, Gehlot said.
“Small districts lead to effective administration, management and control of law and order. Several states in the country have gone ahead in the formation of new districts. Therefore, there was a demand within the state to create new districts,” said.
The new districts are Anoopgarh, which was part of Ganganagar; Balotra (Barmer); Beawar (Ajmer); Kekri (Ajmer); Deeg (Bharatpur); Deedwana Kuchaman (Nagaur); Dudu (Jaipur); Gangapur city (Sawai Madhopur); North Jaipur; Jaipur South; East Jodhpur; West Jodhpur; Kotputli-Behror (Jaipur-Alwar); Jertal (Alwar); Neem ka Thana (Sikar); Phalodis (Jodhpur); Salumber (Udaipur); Sanchore (Jalore); and Shahpura (Bhilwara).
In the past, various legislators have required their towns to become districts. Congress legislator Madan Prajapat had declared walking barefoot until the state government announced Balotra as a new district.
Gehlot also announced that he will start the Rs 25 lakh increased package of the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme from March 30. Previously, the package was capped at Rs 10 lakh per family.
Responding to the budget discussion, the prime minister said that providing an effective, transparent and responsive administration is his government’s commitment. The state government has implemented various public welfare schemes and to ensure that these schemes reach all towns and villages, full sensitivity work is required at the district level, he said.
The prime minister also attacked the Center on the issue of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), saying: “The prime minister and the finance minister oppose the OPS, but it will not stop, and we will also approach the Supreme Court.”
“OPS needs to be rolled out nationwide. Why is there bias? OPS benefits go to the military and air force, but not to CRPF and others,” Gehlot said.
“Even the prime minister before the elections (Lok Sabha) has to make some decision about OPS as the employees are holding sit-ins in many places. The decision to return to OPS by the states is taken on humanitarian grounds “, said. .
Criticizing the opposition BJP for ending the budget wrongly, Gehlot alleged that the BJP in Rajasthan is misleading the House and the public.
The prime minister said that this is the fifth budget of the government, which did not have new taxes. The government’s budgets and schemes have been appreciated by the people, he said.
He also announced a 10 percent increase in the pension for state retirees over the age of 75.
“Retirees over 80 years of age in the state get the benefit of an increase in the amount of the pension. Taking into account the additional financial security, the government has decided to announce an additional subsidy of 10 percent on the basic in the amount of the pension for the retiree older than 75 years of age,” Gehlot said.
He announced the construction of a corridor in Jaipur’s Govinddev Ji Temple on the lines of the Mahakal of Ujjain and said that Rs 100 crore would be spent for this work.
The Prime Minister announced the preparation of a DPR for the development of famous temples like Pushkar, Tripura Sundari, Sanvaliyaji, Salasar, Khole ke Hanuman Mandir, Tanot Mata and Shrinathji.
The Speaker declared MLA Amin Khan the best MLA for 2022 and Anita Bhadel the best MLA for 2023. These MLAs will be honored on March 20.
Earlier, criticizing the state budget, Deputy Opposition Leader Rajendra Rathore said: “The government, which has been facing infighting for the past four years, has presented its latest budget. But this budget will not be based on the fact that it is not practical, looking at the polls and making mistakes”. PTI AG
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