Maharashtra government approved bifurcation of Thane district

State Cabinet of Maharashtra on 13 June 2014 approved the long pending proposal to bifurcate Thane district to carve out Palghar district from it. The bifurcation will be done on 1 August 2014 and with it, Palghar will become the 36th district of the state.

Apart from this, the state government has decided to set aside 450 crore rupees to create infrastructure in Palghar.

Regions that will remain as a part of Thane district after bifurcation are Thane, Kalyan, Ambernath, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Murbad and Shahapur. While the regions or talukas that will be carved out to form Palghar district are Palghar, Jawahar, Mokhada, Talasari, Vasai, Wada, Dahanu and Vikramgad.

Population of the two districts after bifurcation
• Thane district – about 80.58 lakh
• Palghat district – about 1.10 crore
Thane: As per the 2011 census, before bifurcation, Thane is the most populous district of India with nine revenue sub-divisions with 15 talukas and 1995 revenue villages.

About demand of bifurcation
The demand of bifurcation of the district has been pending since 1994 for better administration. The demand of bifurcation of Thane district has been in demand since mid 1980s. Following the demand the state government had conducted viability studies in the past. But the decision to bifurcate the district was reached on the basis of a committee appointed in October 2012 under the chairmanship of the Konkan divisional commissioner.

Meanwhile, following the demands of formation of new districts in Vidarbha, the state government also decided to set up a committee to look into the demands of creation of new districts.