In major revamp, Delhi Cabinet approves reorganisation of 11 districts into 13

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

The Delhi government has approved a revamp of the capital’s administrative structure, reorganising its 11 revenue districts into 13 with an aim to improve coordination and speed up delivery of public services.

The reorganisation will make all districts co-terminus with the 12 Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) zones, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), and the Delhi Cantonment Board, ensuring uniformity across governance boundaries.

“This reform will significantly speed up delivery of public services, and ensure seamless coordination for land records, property registration, civic services, and grievance redressal for citizens,” a spokesperson for the Delhi government said, according to a report by The Indian Express.

The Capital currently has 11 revenue districts, headed by respective district magistrates, while the city is divided into 12 MCD zones, led by respective deputy commissioners. Under the new plan, the city gets three new districts — Outer North, Central North and Old Delhi. Meanwhile, areas under Shahdara district have been redistributed in Northeast and East districts.

The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday.

CM Rekha Gupta termed the decision as a “historic” step towards adapting Delhi’s administrative system to the requirements of the 21st century. Gupta added that in a metropolis like Delhi, smaller, balanced, and administratively empowered districts are necessary for improved coordination of services, faster grievance redressal, and effective monitoring.

All of these districts will also have a mini secretariat, where citizens will be able to access numerous services such as revenue offices, and sub-registrar offices at a single location. The number of sub-divisions have also been increased from existing 33 to 39 and sub-registrar offices increased from 22 to 39.

For many years, the boundaries of revenue districts did not align with those of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, NDMC, and Delhi Cantonment Board, repeatedly causing delays in service delivery, difficulties in land record management, and inconsistencies across departmental jurisdictions, said an official statement.

The gazette notification will be issued within 15 days with the government looking to operationalise the new districts by the end of this month.

The move is being considered a significant reform towards making governance simpler, more transparent, and better coordinated.