Delhi Cabinet approves overhaul, revenue districts to rise to 13

In a bid to streamline governance and make services faster and more citizen-friendly, the Delhi Cabinet has given in-principle approval for a major administrative overhaul. As part of the proposed changes, the number of revenue districts in the national Capital will be increased to 13, while the number of SDM offices will be expanded to 39.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had earlier announced to increase the revenue districts from 11 to 13 and sub-divisional offices from 33 to 39.

Currently, the Capital has 11 revenue districts, each headed by a district magistrate, while there are 33 sub-divisional divisions across the national Capital.

The districts operate separately from the MCD, which is divided into 12 zones led by deputy commissioners.

In addition, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area functions as a separate entity within the New Delhi district. The existing arrangement has usually witnessed confusion and disputes over jurisdiction.

Sources said that the Delhi Cabinet decision will be forwarded to Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena for approval. Once given the go-ahead, the new district structure will be implemented across the city.

It has also been said that the Government has been planning to establish a mini-secretariat in every district, where most departmental services except law and order will be provided under one roof.

This is expected to reduce public inconvenience and enhance administrative coordination. Officials said the new structure is expected to significantly reduce delays and minimise the need for people to visit multiple Government offices for routine work.

Sources claimed that the newly formed BJP Government in the city believes that realignment will “improve inter-departmental coordination, eliminate jurisdictional overlaps, and enable quicker redressal of citizens’ grievances.”

“A large number of Delhi residents currently spend hours moving between different offices for Government paperwork. Officials say that with more districts and subdivisions. With the implementation, services will be available closer to people’s homes, file processing will be faster, crowding in offices will reduce, transparency and accountability will improve, etc,” they said.

The BJP Government has also planned to align MCD zones with revenue districts and merge NDMC and Delhi Cantonment areas into the New Delhi district.  The Sadar zone will be renamed the Old Delhi district. East and North-East districts will be scrapped and replaced by Shahdara North and Shahdara South. The existing North district will be divided into Civil Lines and Old Delhi and a major portion of the South-West district will become the new Najafgarh district.

The change will allow more balanced distribution of work among officials, smoother coordination, and faster delivery of services.

The last time new districts were created was in September 2012, when South-East Delhi and Shahdara were carved out. The current restructuring will require a major redraw of Delhi’s administrative map. It may involve adding or excluding villages and localities, with the names of new districts likely linked to the areas or MCD zones they represent.