In a major administrative revamp, the two-year-old Telangana government has issued draft notification on rearranging district borders to create 17 new districts. After the completion of the process, the number of districts in the State will go up to 27 from the present 10. The new districts will come into being in October.

The government invokes a 1974 Act that provides for the reorganisation. The number of mandals and revenue divisions too will go up. Though the government wanted to increase the number of mandals by 90, it decided to prune it to 31, so that after the revamp, the number will be 490. The State will have 58 (44 now) revenue divisions.

However, the notification for Hyderabad, the capital region, is yet to come out. The government has given a month’s time for people to send their feedback on the break-up of districts and formation of new revenue divisions.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has mooted the idea of carving out new districts in order to minimise the hassle for people in commuting to the district headquarters and to enhance the efficiency of the administration.

There have been protests in some parts of the State, with agitators from places like Gadwal, Janagaon and Siricilla taking to the streets demanding district status for the respective areas.

The State Revenue Department has opened an exclusive website, giving details of the reorganisation of districts, maps and relevant government orders. The site also provides a window that allows people and stakeholders to submit their views on the re-organisation.

The State has set a target to complete the process by September.

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