Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday announced that Vellore district would be split into three to create two new districts of Tirupattur and Ranipet.
Vellore district, currently one of the largest in Tamil Nadu, would retain its headquarters, but see a reduction in geographical area. K.V. Kuppam in Vellore district would be made a taluk, he said.
The decision to split Vellore district followed representations from Ministers, MLAs and the general public and was done for administrative reasons, the CM added.
Last month, Mr. Palaniswami had announced his decision to create Chengalpattu district, carved out of Kancheepuram, and Tenkasi district, by bifurcating Tirunelveli. In January, he had said Villupuram district would be bifurcated and a new district with Kallakurichi as its headquarters would be created.
As and when all the proposed new districts are established, the number of districts in the State would go up to 37. While bifurcation of districts is not new, this is the first time that the government has announced five new districts in the short span of eight months.
In a recent interview with The Hindu, Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar had argued that creation of a new district laid the foundation for growth. “It is the first step towards development. A new district will have a new collectorate and encourage employment opportunities, creation of new commercial establishments and industries. We have created 85 new taluks and 11 revenue divisions since 2015,” he had said.
When new district headquarters are set up, people need not travel a long distance to get their grievance redressed. The Revenue Department would redraw the boundaries of the districts.
In recent times, there has been a vocal demand to create a new district headquarters in Mayiladuthurai by bifurcating Nagapattinam district. Last month, traders in Mayiladuthurai downed shutters for three days demanding creation of a new district. The government is yet to act on the demand.
PMK hails decision
Welcoming the decision to trifurcate Vellore, PMK founder S. Ramadoss said that the population of Vellore, which stood at 38.37 lakh, was greater than that of 101 countries. It comprised of 13 Assembly constituencies and was spread across 220 km in distance.
In a statement, he said that likewise it would be proper to bifurcate the districts of Tiruvallur, Salem, Coimbatore and Madurai — which each had a population of over 30 lakh — and Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai, Erode, Cuddalore, Dindigul and Virudhunagar, where the population was over 20 lakh each. He supported the demand for creating a new district with Mayiladuthurai as its headquarters.
