GUJRAT: At least three districts of Gujranwala division are likely to be included in the proposed new administrative division of Gujrat since it (Gujranwala) has been the largest division of Punjab with six districts. Most of the divisions in Punjab comprise four districts.

The Punjab Board of Revenue through its senior member revenue has already sought a detailed report from the Gujranwala Commissioner Mansoor Qadir and Gujrat Deputy Commissioner Amer Shahzad Kang by engaging land revenue and other departments concerned.

A senior official told Dawn here on Wednesday that as per the proposal the districts of Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Hafizabad would be included in the new administrative division after bifurcation of the existing Gujranwala division whereas Wazirabad tehsil of Gujranwala district might also be upgraded as a new district to make it a part of Gujrat division -- may be now or at a later stage.

CM to make announcement during Gujrat visit

Moreover, he said that work was also underway to prepare a proposal for the creation of at least two new tehsils by bifurcating the Gujrat tehsil as Jalalpur Jattan and Kunjah tehsils. Nevertheless, chances of tehsil status for Jalalpur Jattan town are bright as the homework for the creation of this tehsil has basically been done in 2017 but it was delayed due to the start of delimitation of constituencies.

Sources said Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi would announce the creation of Gujrat division during his first visit to his hometown after becoming CM and efforts were being made to complete required process in this regard within a week or so.

In fact, the process for the creation of Gujrat division had started in 2021 when senior PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi approached then Punjab chief minister Usman Buzdar who accepted the proposal.

With 16.3 million population, Gujranwala division faces a huge workload in administrative offices.

In case of creation of Gujrat division, the districts of Gujranwala, Sialkot and Narowal will remain intact in the existing Gujranwala division.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2022