Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has initiated an exercise to review and reorganise the state’s administrative structure, with a focus on improving governance, ensuring better accessibility to public services and addressing the administrative requirements of people, particularly in remote and difficult geographical areas.
In this regard, the Commission for Reorganisation of Administrative Units held its first meeting here on Saturday under the chairmanship of Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary (Retd.), former Judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Chairperson of the Commission.
During the meeting, the Commission held detailed discussions on the existing administrative framework of the state, including districts, subdivisions, tehsils, sub-tehsils, development blocks and other administrative divisions of various departments.
The Commission also initiated preliminary deliberations on the criteria and parameters for examining proposals related to the creation, merger, bifurcation and reorganisation of administrative units. Population, geographical conditions, accessibility, administrative efficiency and public convenience were identified as key factors to be considered during the exercise.
Emphasising the need for a people-centric approach, the Commission observed that the proposed exercise should primarily aim at strengthening governance and making public services more accessible, especially for residents of remote and geographically challenging areas.
The meeting also discussed the need to obtain relevant demographic data, administrative details and other inputs from concerned departments and Deputy Commissioners to facilitate a comprehensive assessment of the existing arrangements. Consultations with public representatives, stakeholders and various government departments will also form an important part of the process.
The financial implications of the proposed reorganisation, including infrastructure development and manpower requirements, were also discussed. The Commission stressed that any restructuring should ensure optimum utilisation of available resources and improve administrative efficiency without creating an additional financial burden on the state exchequer.
The Commission decided to undertake a detailed examination of the existing administrative set-up and seek the necessary information and suggestions from concerned departments and district administrations before proceeding further with its deliberations.
The exercise could pave the way for changes in the state’s administrative framework, with the ultimate objective of bringing governance closer to the people and ensuring more effective delivery of public services.
