Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has sought proposals for creation of new districts in 2026-27 financial year, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari informed the state Assembly on Thursday.
According to the minister, the state has already received memoranda and demands for 31 new districts. “These requests are under consideration and the government will act on them at an appropriate time,” he noted.
According to sources, there is a proposal to divide Mayurbhanj and Ganjam into five districts. The demands include establishing new districts by carving out Ganjam, Bhanjanagar, and Aska from Ganjam district and Titlagarh, Patnagarh, Loisingha and Kantabanji from Balangir district, another four from Balasore and three each from Cuttack and Angul, along with Padmapur (Bargarh), Kuchinda (Saambalpur) and Dharmagarh (Kalahandi).
Interestingly, many of these proposed new districts were recently upgraded into NAC and municipalities.
Odisha currently has 30 districts. The state was formed on April 1, 1936, with just six districts: Cuttack, Puri, Balasore, Sambalpur, Koraput, and Ganjam. Seven additional districts – Balangir, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj, Phulbani (now Kandhamal), and Sundargarh – were created subsequently, bringing the total to 13. In 1993, under the leadership of the late Biju Patnaik, the government established 17 more districts, raising the number to the present 30.
This latest move toward potential district creation aligns with broader efforts to enhance governance and decentralise administration.
Pujari also informed the House about proposals for 66 new subdivisions. Bargarh, Ganjam, and Koraput districts have submitted the highest number of such requests for greater administrative effectiveness, improving public service delivery and accelerating implementation of developmental programmes.
He added that the government will take an appropriate decision after reviewing the administrative feasibility and other relevant factors.
