The Delhi government has drafted a proposal for a major overhaul of the capital's administrative structure, recommending an increase in the number of districts from the current 11 to 13. Officials provided this information on Friday.
Proposed District Names And Restructuring
According to the Revenue Department's proposal, new names have been suggested for nine of Delhi's districts. These are:
- Civil Lines
- Karol Bagh
- Rohini
- Narela
- Najafgarh
- City Sadar
- Keshavpuram
- North Shahdara
- South Shahdara
Meanwhile, the names of the Central, New Delhi, South, and West districts have been retained in the proposal without any changes.
Currently, with the exception of Shahdara, the names of the existing districts are based on their geographical location (e.g., East Delhi, West Delhi, North Delhi, South Delhi, South-East Delhi, New Delhi, North-West Delhi, Central Delhi, North-East Delhi, and South-West Delhi).
Rationale And Specific Changes
According to officials, the proposal to rename the districts aligns with the government's policy to synchronize district boundaries with the zones of the Municipal Corporation.
The proposal recommends reorganising the North-East and East districts—which have the highest population density—into two new districts named North Shahdara and South Shahdara.
Minimal changes have been suggested for the New Delhi district, commonly referred to as Lutyens' Delhi. It is recommended to restructure its three sub-divisions—Delhi Cantt, Vasant Vihar, and Chanakyapuri—into two sub-divisions: Delhi Cantt and New Delhi. Additionally, there is a proposal to include the colonies of the Vasant Vihar sub-division into the Najafgarh district.
Implementation Process
Officials stated that after receiving approval from the Delhi Cabinet, the proposal will be sent to the Lieutenant Governor. It will be implemented immediately upon receiving his approval.