Gujarat Government Splits Banaskantha To Create New District

The Gujarat government on Wednesday approved the bifurcation of Banaskantha district to create a new district.

The new Vav-Tharad district will have its headquarters in Tharad town, state Health Minister and government spokesperson Rushikesh Patel said.

With the formation of this new district, the number of districts in Gujarat will reach 34.

The decision to carve out a new district was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in Gandhinagar.

“The state cabinet has given its nod to divide Banaskantha into two districts in the larger interest of people and the old public demand. Currently, people have to travel 35 to 85 km to reach the Banaskantha district headquarters in Palanpur for various works,” Patel told reporters.

At 14, Banaskantha district includes the highest number of talukas in Gujarat and is the second largest district area-wise, said Patel.

The Vav-Tharad district will be created from eight out of these 14 talukas, namely Vav, Tharad, Bhabhar, Dhanera Suigam, Lakhni, Deodar and Kankrej. It will also include Bhabhar, Tharad, Dhanera and Thara municipalities.

“This decision to split Banaskantha into two districts has been taken to reduce the burden on the administration and to cater to the people effectively,” said Patel.

Banaskanth district will be left with six taluks- Palanpur, Danta, Amirgadh, Dantiwada, Vadgam and Deesa, along with Palanpur and Deesa municipalities.

While Tharad town will be the district headquarters of Vav-Tharad, Palanpur will remain the headquarters of Banaskantha district.

“The chief minister has divided villages into both districts (Banaskanth and proposed Vav Tharad) equally so that each district will comprise around 600 villages. After the split, Vav-Tharad district will be spread across 6,257 square km while Banaskantha’s area will be 4,486 square km,” said Patel.