If everything goes according to plan, Telangana will soon have 15 new districts taking the total number to 25 by the State formation day on June 2.

The decision was taken by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao after a high level meeting attended by the Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali and senior officials of the department.

The Chief Minister will formally announce the decision on the 3rd State formation day next month. In addition to more than doubling the number of districts, the State Government has also decided to create 40 new mandals or blocks for administrative convenience and accelerate the development process, sources said.

The decision was expected to come into effect from next Dussehra festival. At present the State with more than 35 milion population has 42 revenue divisions and 464 revenue mandals or blocks.

“Every revenue division will comprise 8 to 10 mandals”, KCR said stressing that smaller districts can be administered better.

Each of the existing districts will be bifurcated or trifurcated. Part of Hyderabad district will become Secunderabad district while parts of Ranga Reddy district will become new district of Viqarabad, sources said.

Addressing the meeting the Chief Minister said that as the Center was taking steps to increase the number of Assembly constituencies in the State from 119 to 153,

the State should also initiate steps to carve out new districts.

Officials expect that increase in the number of districts will help the State in getting more funds and grants as Center had taken district as a unit for allocations.

Though the move of increasing the number of districts was on the cards since the formation of Telangana State in June 2014, Chief Minister KCR took time in carefully chalking out the plans and discussing the

contours of each of the new districts.