West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on April 4, 2017 announced Jhargram as a new district of the State.
Carved out of four Assembly seats of Paschim Medinipur district, Jhargram was once a hotbed of Maoist activity.
Lalgarh, which comes under the new district, had become a “liberated zone” after the Left Front government reclaimed the area through a joint operation with Central forces in June 2009.
Also on the anvil are a university at Jhargram, along with an archery academy, nine colleges and six hospitals.
Jhargram is the State’s 22nd district.
In February, the Mamata Banerjee government had made Kalimpong a separate district after carving it out of Darjeeling district.
In June 2014, Alipurduar, of Jalpaiguri district, became the 20th district of the State.
The State government has plans to bifurcate Bardhaman district into a rural and an industrial belt, and also make Sunderbans, spread over North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, into a separate district.
According to the State government, creating new districts helps in administrative convenience and brings services closer to the people.
Jhargram: Know More- The new district comprises eight blocks, nine police stations and one municipality.
- It has a population of around 11,37,000 and four Assembly constituencies - Jhargram, Gopiballavpur, Nayagram and Binpur.
- While R Arjun was appointed as Jhargram district magistrate, Abhishek Gupta was named the SP.
- CM announced that a budget Rs 200 crore has been sanctioned for development projects to be undertaken in the area.
- Around 35,000 people have been recruited in the police from Jangalmahal.
