Efforts to create new districts in Himachal Pradesh have gained momentum after the state government constituted a four-member commission headed by retired high court judge Dharam Chand Chaudhary.
Approved by the cabinet in May, the decision reopens a politically sensitive issue as the state prepares for assembly elections in December 2027.
This marks the first major administrative reorganisation exercise in the state in 54 years. The last reorganisation occurred on September 1, 1972, when three new districts were carved out of Kangra, increasing the total from nine to 12.
Besides justice Chaudhary, the panel includes advocate Vishal Panwar and retired Indian Forest Service officer Rajesh Sharma, with the director of land records serving as member secretary.
Headquartered in Shimla, the commission has been given six months to evaluate proposals for creating, merging, and bifurcating administrative units, including districts, sub-divisions, tehsils, sub-tehsils, and development blocks.
The panel will assess current structures based on population, topography, local accessibility, and administrative demands. It will also calculate the financial implications, focusing on infrastructure and manpower costs, while identifying redundant or underutilised offices to streamline operations without placing an additional burden on state finances.
Administrative secretaries from key departments—including revenue, finance, public works, jal shakti, and forest—will participate as special invitees to provide inputs. The panel will also consult public representatives and local stakeholders before submitting its recommendations.
{{/usCountry}}Administrative secretaries from key departments—including revenue, finance, public works, jal shakti, and forest—will participate as special invitees to provide inputs. The panel will also consult public representatives and local stakeholders before submitting its recommendations.
{{/usCountry}}Decades of deliberation
Proposals to bifurcate larger districts, particularly Kangra, have circulated for over two decades, but successive Congress and BJP regimes routinely shelved them due to political resistance and cost concerns.
Kangra remains the state’s largest and most politically significant district, holding 15 assembly seats, nearly double the count of most other districts. Proposals have repeatedly surfaced to carve out new districts such as Dehra, Palampur, or Nurpur.
Mandi holds the second-highest number of seats at 10, followed by Shimla with eight. Solan, Una, Hamirpur, Sirmaur, and Chamba hold five seats each, while Bilaspur and Kullu have four. The sparsely populated tribal districts of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti have one seat each.
At present, Himachal Pradesh has 81 sub-divisions, 92 blocks, and 193 tehsils and sub-tehsils. Officials indicate the government may unwind underperforming administrative units created by previous regimes on political considerations to curb wasteful expenditure amid an ongoing financial crunch.
Prior to the 2022 assembly elections, the Jai Ram Thakur-led BJP government considered creating up to five new districts—Nurpur, Dehra, and Palampur from Kangra; Sundernagar from Mandi; and Mahasu from Shimla.
Earlier BJP regimes under Prem Kumar Dhumal also explored similar proposals, but dropped them following pushback from senior party leaders, including former chief minister Shanta Kumar, who publicly opposed splitting Kangra.
Previous state governments had also weighed reorganising other regions. Proposals included carving out Mahasu district from Shimla—comprising Theog, Chopal, Jubbal-Kotkhai, and Rampur, along with Anni from Kullu district—and merging the remote Pangi region of Chamba with Lahaul and Spiti. Deliberations had also taken place regarding the reorganisation of Kinnaur district and the creation of Sundernagar district by splitting Mandi.