Administrative divisions of India

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The Administrative divisions of India are Indian subnational administrative units; they compose a nested hierarchy of country subdivisions. Indian states and territories frequently use different local titles for the same level of subdivision (e.g., the mandals of Andhra Pradesh correspond to tehsils of Uttar Pradesh and other Hindi-speaking states and taluka of Gujarat and Maharashtra).

The smaller subdivisions (villages and blocks) exist only in rural areas. In urban areas Urban Local Bodies exist instead of these rural subdivisions.

In the context of the Indian Constitution, local government bodies are the subject of the State List and are thereby governed by State Statutes, or in the case of Union Territories, by the Union Parliament. Federal recognition of local government was substantively expressed in the 74th Constitution Amendment Act of 1992.

Contents

Zones

The States have been grouped into five zones having an Advisory Council 'to develop the habit of cooperative working” among these States. Five Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act, 1956. The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:

The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;

The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;

The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand,Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;

The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and

The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.

States and union territories

India is composed of 28 states and 7 union territories (including a national capital territory).[1] The union territories are governed by administrators, appointed by the President of India. Two of the territories (Delhi and Pondicherry) have been given partial statehood, with elected legislatures and executive councils of ministers, but limited powers.

States
Number State Code Capital
1 Andhra Pradesh AP Hyderabad
2 Arunachal Pradesh AR Itanagar
3 Assam AS Dispur
4 Bihar BR Patna
5 Chhattisgarh CG Raipur
6 Goa GA Panaji
7 Gujarat GJ Gandhinagar
8 Haryana HR Chandigarh
9 Himachal Pradesh HP Shimla
10 Jammu and Kashmir JK Srinagar
11 Jharkhand JH Ranchi
12 Karnataka KA Bangalore
13 Kerala KL Thiruvananthapuram
14 Madhya Pradesh MP Bhopal
15 Maharashtra MH Mumbai
16 Manipur MN Imphal
17 Meghalaya ML Shillong
18 Mizoram MZ Aizawl
19 Nagaland NL Kohima
20 Orissa OR Bhubaneswar
21 Punjab PB Chandigarh
22 Rajasthan RJ Jaipur
23 Sikkim SK Gangtok
24 Tamil Nadu TN Chennai
25 Tripura TR Agartala
26 Uttar Pradesh UP Lucknow
27 Uttarakhand UK Dehradun
28 West Bengal WB Kolkata
Union territories
Number Union territory Code Capital
A Andaman and Nicobar Islands AN Port Blair
B Chandigarh CH Chandigarh
C Dadra and Nagar Haveli DN Silvassa
D Daman and Diu DD Daman
E Lakshadweep LD Kavaratti
F National Capital Territory ND New Delhi
G Pondicherry PY Pondicherry
See also:
List of states and union territories of India by population (area can also be found)
Official languages of India#Languages currently used In Indian states and union territories

Regions

Some of the states of India are divided into regions. The Regions of India are not official administrative divisions. They have no official administrative governmental status. They are purely geographic regions; some correspond to historic countries, states or provinces. A region may comprise one or more divisions, averaging about three divisions per region. However, the boundaries of the regions and the boundaries of the divisions do not always coincide exactly. So far there has been no movement to give the regions official administrative status. If this was to be done, it would presumably require that the boundaries of the regions be slightly modified so that they correspond exactly with their constituent districts.

Divisions

Some of the Indian states are subdivided into divisions (mandal), each comprising several districts:

Districts

States and territories (or divisions) are further subdivided into Districts (zilla), of which there are 640.

Sub-Districts

Tehsils, talukas, blocks or mandals (sub-districts but can also refer to division), headed by a Tehsildar or Talukdar, comprise several villages or village clusters. The governmental bodies at the Tehsil level are called the panchayat samiti.

States use varying names for their sub-districts. Detailed information is as follows:[2]

State or U.T. Name for sub-district Number of sub-districts
Jammu and Kashmir Tahsil 59
Himachal Pradesh Tahsil/Sub-Tahsil 109
Punjab Tahsil 72
Chandigarh Tahsil 1
Uttarakhand Tahsil 49
Haryana Tahsil 67
Delhi Tahsil 27
Rajasthan Tahsil 241
Uttar Pradesh Tahsil 300
Bihar C.D.Block 533
Sikkim Sub-Division 9
Arunachal Pradesh Circle 149
Nagaland Circle 93
Manipur Sub-Division 38
Mizoram R.D.Block 22
Tripura C.D.Block 38
Meghalaya C.D.Block 32
Assam Circle 155
West Bengal C.D.Block 341
Jharkhand C.D.Block 210
Orissa Police Station 485
Chhatisgarh Tahsil 97
Madhya Pradesh Tahsil 259
Gujarat Taluk 226
Daman & Diu Taluk 2
Dadra & Nagar Haveli Taluk 1
Maharashtra Tahsil 353
Andhra Pradesh Mandal 1125
Karnataka Taluk 175
Goa Taluk 11
Lakshadweep Sub-Division 4
Kerala Taluk 63
Tamil Nadu Taluk 201
Pondicherry Commune Panchayat 10
Andaman & Nicobar Islands Tahsil 7

Local level

Blocks

The block is often the next level of administrative division after the tehsil.

Hoblis

A hobli is a subdivision of a taluka which groups adjoining villages in the state of Karnataka. They may have been made for administrative purposes by the revenue department of the state.

Villages

Villages are often the lowest level of subdivisions in India. The governmental bodies at the village level are called Gram Panchayat, of which there were an estimated 256,000 in 2002. Each Gram Panchayat covers a large village or a cluster of smaller villages with a combined population exceeding 500 (Gram Group). Clusters of villages are also sometimes called Hobli or Patti.

Habitations

Certain governmental functions and activities - including clean water availability, rural development, and education - are tracked at a sub-village level.[3] These hamlets are termed "habitations". India is composed of approximately 1.6 million habitations.[4] In some states, most villages have a single habitation; in others (notably Kerala and Tripura) there is a high ratio of habitations to villages.[5]

Municipalities

Municipalities of India are governed by Municipal Corporations (Mahanagar Paalika) for large urban areas, Municipal Council (Nagar Paalika) for smaller urban areas, and Town Councils (Nagar Panchayats) for suburban areas. Municipalities can be as large as a district or smaller than a Tehsil.

Historic

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ [1] States and Union Territories of India - Source - Government of India Official Website
  2. ^ "Statement showing the Nomenclature and Number of Sub-Districts in States/UTs". Office of The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India, New Delhi. 2010-2011. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/Admin_Units/Admin_links/subdistrict_nomeclature.html. Retrieved 2011-10-03. 
  3. ^ Indian Department of Drinking Water Supply
  4. ^ Indian Department of Drinking Water Supply
  5. ^ Indian Department of Education