Lahore: The Punjab government has granted full administrative autonomy to all newly created districts and tehsils across the province, including Murree and Talagang, under the new provincial budget for FY 2024–25.
The decision marks a significant shift in governance, as these districts—established over the past three years—were previously functioning without proper administrative frameworks. Until now, the absence of district-level autonomy and judicial infrastructure had caused operational inconsistencies, described by officials as a “half partridge-half quail” arrangement.
According to official sources, Murree and Talagang have now been formally included as fully autonomous districts within the Rawalpindi Division. A special development budget has been allocated for each of the five new districts and seven new tehsils, with separate grants for local governance.
This move has been welcomed by elected representatives of the newly formed districts, who will each receive development funds worth Rs100 million. The government has also communicated the decision to the deputy commissioners and the commissioner of the newly created Gujarat Division.
With this latest reorganization, Punjab now comprises 10 divisions, 41 districts, and 156 tehsils. Notably, Rawalpindi Division—with six districts and 24 tehsils—has become the largest division in the province, surpassing Lahore Division in both number of districts and tehsils.
The restructuring includes the recent formation of the Gujarat Division, which now consists of Gujrat, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, and Wazirabad districts. Other divisions such as Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Sargodha have also undergone internal tehsil-level adjustments to improve administrative efficiency.
The autonomy granted under the new budget is expected to streamline development, judicial proceedings, and public service delivery in these newly designated areas.
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