List of districts of West Bengal

The Himalayas lies in the north of the state and the Bay of Bengal is at the south. In between them, the river Ganga flows eastwards and its main distributary, the Hooghly River, flows south to reach the Bay of Bengal. The Siliguri Corridor, which connects North-East India with rest of the India, lies in the North Bengal region of the state. Geographically, West Bengal is divided into a variety of regions—Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, Terai and Dooars region, North Bengal plains, Rarh region, Western plateau and high lands, coastal plains, Sunderbans and the Ganga Delta.

In 1947, when India gained independence, the state of West Bengal was formed with 14 districts, as per partition plan of the then Bengal province of British India. The former princely state Koch Bihar joined as a district in 1950, and the former French enclave Chandannagore joined as part of the Hooghly district in 1954. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 led to addition of Purulia district to the state and to enlargement of West Dinajpur district. Later, larger districts such as West Dinajpur, 24 Parganas and Midnapore were bifurcated. Till 24 June 2014 West Bengal was divided into 19 districts.

West Bengal is now divided into 23 districts which includes the newly formed Jhargram district, Alipurduar district and the Kalimpong district, Paschim Bardhaman district under five divisions and divisions are administered by Divisional Commissioners. Kolkata, the capital of the state, constitutes the Kolkata district. Other districts are further divided into administrative units such as subdivisions and blocks, administered by SDO and BDO, respectively. The Panchayati Raj has a three-tier structure in the state. The atomic unit is called a Gram Panchayat, which is the Panchayat organisation for a collection of villages. The block-level organisations are called Panchayat Samiti, and the district-level organisations are named Zilla Parishad.

Geography

Main article: Geography of West Bengal

West Bengal is bordered by three countries: Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh; and five Indian states: Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Assam. Sikkim and Bhutan are located to the north of the state, Nepal to the northwest, Bihar and Jharkhand in the west, Odisha in the southwest, the Bay of Bengal to the south, and Bangladesh and Assam are in the east. West Bengal is the only state of India that has both the Himalayas in the north and the Bay of Bengal at the south. In between them, the river Ganga enters the state from west, before it branches off into its main distributaries: the Hooghly River, which flows southwards to reach the Bay of Bengal, and the Padma River, which flows eastwards into Bangladesh.

The districts that are located at the north of the Ganga—Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur, Alipurduar and Kalimpong — are often referred to collectively as North Bengal. Kalimpong is a newly added district of West Bengal. Geographically, this area is divided into the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region, the Terai and Dooars region, and the North Bengal plains. The Siliguri Corridor, also known as Chicken's Neck, which connects North-East India with rest of the India, lies in this region. The Indo-Bangladesh enclaves are either enclaves or exclaves of the Cooch Behar district or the Jalpaiguri district.

The districts on the south of the Ganges—Bankura, Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Bardhaman, Birbhum, Purulia, Murshidabad, Nadia, West Midnapore, Jhargram, East Midnapore, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas—constitute a variety of geographical regions such as the Rarh region, the Western plateau and high lands, the coastal plains, the Sunderbans and the Ganga Delta. Kolkata, the capital of the state, constitutes the Kolkata district.

The uninhabited South Talpatti Island, which surfaced in the Bay of Bengal in the 1970s near the Indo-Bangladesh border, is claimed by both India and Bangladesh.

History

After India gained independence in 1947, the province of Bengal was partitioned along religious lines. The western part remained in India (and was named West Bengal) while the eastern part joined newly formed Pakistan as a province called East Pakistan (later giving rise to Bangladesh in 1971). At the time of its creation in 1947, the state of West Bengal was divided into 14 districts—Bankura, Birbhum, Burdwan, Calcutta (Kolkata), Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Hooghly, Howrah, Malda, Midnapore, Murshidabad, Nadia, West Dinajpur and 24 Parganas. Cooch Behar district was a princely state named Koch Bihar till 20 August 1949, when the state formally agreed to join India. Transfer of administration was started on 12 September 1949 and was completed on 19 January 1950, when Cooch Behar became a district of West Bengal. Chandernagore, which was earlier part of the French India, had voted to join India in a plebiscite in 1949. Formally, it joined India in 1952 and finally became a part of the Hooghly district of West Bengal on 2 October 1954. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised boundaries of the Indian states along linguistic lines. As this act was implemented, the then West Dinajpur district was enlarged with the addition of some areas from Bihar, and the Purulia district was formed on 1 November 1956 from parts of the Manbhum district of Bihar.

Later, some large districts were divided into smaller districts. On 1 March 1986, the district of 24 Parganas was bifurcated into two districts—the North 24 Parganas district and the South 24 Parganas district. On 1 April 1992, the West Dinajpur district was bifurcated into the Uttar Dinajpur district and the Dakshin Dinajpur district. On 1 January 2002, the erstwhile Midnapore district was bifurcated into the Purba Medinipur district and the Paschim Medinipur district.

Since 2007, the demand for a separate Gorkhaland state has been revived by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and its supporters in the Darjeeling hills. The Kamtapur People's Party and its supporters' movement for a separate Kamtapur state that covers the North Bengal has also gained momentum in the 2000s.

Administrative structure

Divisions of West Bengal

A district is governed by a District Collector, who is better known as a District Magistrate (DM) in the state of West Bengal. A DM is an officer from either Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or West Bengal Civil Service (WBCS), and is appointed by the State Government of West Bengal. Each district is divided into subdivisions, except the Kolkata district, which contains urban area only, administered by Kolkata Municipal Corporation. A subdivision is governed by a sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), better known as a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO). Other than urban units such as town municipalities, a subdivision contains 'community development blocks' (also known as CD blocks or blocks). A block consists of urban units such as census towns and rural units called gram panchayats. A block is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), who is appointed by the Government of West Bengal.

A gram panchayat, which consists of a group of villages, is administered by a village council headed by a Pradhan. As per the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, each Block has a Panchayat Samiti, whose members include the Pradhans of the constituent gram panchayats, and the MLAs from the block. A Panchayat Samiti is headed by a Sabhadhipati. The third tier of the Panchayati Raj is Zilla Parishad, a district level organisation with the Sabhapatis of the constituent Panchayat Samitis and the MLAs from the district as its members. A Zilla Parishad is headed by a Sabhadhipati. For the Darjeeling district, the Zilla Parishad has ceased to exist, but a similar organisation for the Siliguri subdivision exists, which is designated as a Mahakuma Parishad.

The Gorkha Hill Council, formed in 1988, administers three (out of four) subdivisions of the Darjeeling district: Darjeeling Sadar, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Gorkha Hill Council manages the departments of Public Health, Education, Public Works, Transport, Tourism, Market, Small scale industries, Agriculture, Agricultural waterways, Forest (except reserved forests), Water, Livestock, Vocational Training and Sports and Youth services. District administration of Darjeeling, which is still responsible for election, panchayat, law and order, revenue etc., also acts as an interface between the Council and the State Government.

A District Superintendent of Police, better known as a Superintendent of Police, heads the District Police organisation of West Bengal Police. This is as per the Police Act of 1861, which is applicable to the whole of India. The Superintendents of Police are officers of the Indian Police Service. For every subdivision, there is a Subdivision Police, headed by a Police officer of the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police or Deputy Superintendent of Police. Under subdivisions, there are Police Circles, each headed by an Inspector of Police. A Police Circle consists of Police Stations, each headed by an Inspector of Police, or in case of rural areas, by a Sub-Inspector of Police.

The Calcutta High Court has the jurisdiction of the state of West Bengal. Though most of the districts have more courts other than a District Court, not every subdivision of the state has a Court.

A group of districts forms a division, which is administered by a 'Divisional Commissioner'. West Bengal is now divided in twenty three districts, grouped under five divisions:

Malda division	Burdwan division	Jalpaiguri division	Presidency division	Medinipur division
Malda district Uttar Dinajpur district Dakshin Dinajpur district Murshidabad district	Birbhum district Hooghly district Paschim Bardhaman district Purba Bardhaman district	Alipurduar district Cooch Behar district Darjeeling district Jalpaiguri district Kalimpong district	Howrah district Kolkata district Nadia district North 24 Parganas district (Uttar 24 Parganas) South 24 Parganas district (Dakshin 24 Parganas)	Bankura district Jhargram district Purulia district Purba Medinipur district Paschim Medinipur district

Alphabetical listing of West Bengal

Code	District	Headquarters	Established	Subdivisions	Area	Population As of 2011	Population Density	Map
AD	Alipurduar	Alipurduar	2014	Alipurduar	3,383 km2 (1,306 sq mi)	1,700,000	400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
BN	Bankura	Bankura	1947	Bankura Sadar Khatra Bishnupur	6,882 km2 (2,657 sq mi)	3,596,292	523/km2 (1,350/sq mi)
BR	Purba Bardhaman	Bardhaman	2017	Kalna Katwa Bardhaman Sadar North Bardhaman Sadar South	7,024 km2 (2,712 sq mi)	7,723,663	1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
BI	Birbhum	Suri	1947	Suri Sadar Bolpur Rampurhat	4,545 km2 (1,755 sq mi)	3,502,387	771/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
KB	Cooch Behar	Cooch Behar	1950	Cooch Behar Sadar Dinhata Mathabhanga Mekhliganj Tufanganj	3,387 km2 (1,308 sq mi)	2,822,780	833/km2 (2,160/sq mi)
DA	Darjeeling	Darjeeling	1947	Darjeeling Sadar Kurseong Siliguri	2,092.5 km2 (807.9 sq mi)	1,797,422	859/km2 (2,220/sq mi)
ME	Purba Medinipur	Tamluk	2002	Tamluk Haldia Egra Contai	4,736 km2 (1,829 sq mi)	5,094,238	1,076/km2 (2,790/sq mi)
HG	Hooghly	Chinsura	1947	Chinsurah Chandannagore Srirampore Arambagh	3,149 km2 (1,216 sq mi)	5,520,389	1,753/km2 (4,540/sq mi)
HR	Howrah	Howrah	1947	Howrah Sadar Uluberia	1,467 km2 (566 sq mi)	1,072,161	-
JP	Jalpaiguri	Jalpaiguri	1869	Jalpaiguri Sadar Malbazar	2,844 km2 (1,098 sq mi)	2,172,846	621/km2 (1,610/sq mi)
JH	Jhargram	Jhargram	2017	Jhargram	3,037.64 km2 (1,172.84 sq mi)	1,136,548	833/km2 (2,160/sq mi)
KO	Kolkata	Kolkata	1947	—	185 km2 (71 sq mi)	4,486,679	24,252/km2 (62,810/sq mi)
KA	Kalimpong	Kalimpong	2017	Kalimpong	1,044 km2 (403 sq mi)	251,642
MA	Malda	English Bazar	1947	Chanchal Malda Sadar	3,733 km2 (1,441 sq mi)	3,997,970	1,071/km2 (2,770/sq mi)
MU	Murshidabad	Baharampur	1947	Barhampur Domkol Lalbag Kandi Jangipur	5,324 km2 (2,056 sq mi)	7,102,430	1,334/km2 (3,460/sq mi)
NA	Nadia	Krishnanagar	1947	Krishnanagar Sadar Kalyani Ranaghat Tehatta	3,927 km2 (1,516 sq mi)	5,168,488	1,316/km2 (3,410/sq mi)
PN	North 24 Parganas	Barasat	1986	Barrackpore Barasat Sadar Bangaon Basirhat Bidhannagar	4,094 km2 (1,581 sq mi)	10,082,852	2,463/km2 (6,380/sq mi)
UD	Uttar Dinajpur	Raiganj	1992	Raiganj Islampur	3,140 km2 (1,210 sq mi)	3,000,849	956/km2 (2,480/sq mi)
PU	Purulia	Purulia	1956	Purulia Sadar East Purulia Sadar West Raghunathpur	6,259 km2 (2,417 sq mi)	2,927,965	468/km2 (1,210/sq mi)
PS	South 24 Parganas	Alipore	1986	Baruipur Canning Diamond Harbour Kakdwip Alipore Sadar	9,960 km2 (3,850 sq mi)	8,153,176	819/km2 (2,120/sq mi)
DD	Dakshin Dinajpur	Balurghat	1992	Balurghat Gangarampur	2,219 km2 (857 sq mi)	1,670,931	753/km2 (1,950/sq mi)
ME	Paschim Midnapore	Medinipur	2002	Kharagpur Medinipur Sadar Ghatal	9,345 km2 (3,608 sq mi)	5,943,300	636/km2 (1,650/sq mi)
Total	22	—	—	72	88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi)	91,347,736	1,029/km2 (2,670/sq mi)

Demographics

The following is a list of the basic demographic data for the districts of West Bengal by their population rank in India

Rank	District	Population	Growth Rate	Sex Ratio	Literacy	Density/KM	Comparable Country (by population)
2	North 24 Parganas	11,060,148	12.86	955	84.53	2,445	Bolivia
6	South 24 Parganas	9,161,961	18.17	956	77.51	819	Honduras
7	Bardhaman	7,717,563	11.92	945	76.21	1,099	Togo
9	Murshidabad	7,103,807	21.09	958	66.59	1,334	Bulgaria
14	West Midnapore	5,943,300	14.44	960	79.04	636	Kyrgyzstan
16	Hooghly	5,520,389	9.49	958	82.55	1,753	Finland
18	Nadia	5,168,488	12.24	947	75.58	1,316	Congo
20	East Midnapore	5,094,238	15.32	936	87.66	1,076	Eritrea
23	Howrah	4,841,638	13.31	935	83.85	3,300	Ireland
35	Kolkata	4,496,694	-1.67	908	86.31	24,306	Mauritania
58	Malda	3,997,970	21.50	939	62.71	1,071	Moldova
66	Jalpaiguri	3,869,675	13.77	954	73.79	621	Georgia
80	Bankura	3,596,292	12.64	954	70.95	523	Bosnia and Herzegovina
84	Birbhum	3,502,387	16.15	956	70.90	771	Bosnia and Herzegovina
124	North Dinajpur	3,000,849	22.90	936	60.13	956	Mongolia
129	Purulia	2,927,965	15.43	955	65.38	468	Albania
136	Cooch Behar	2,822,780	13.86	942	75.49	833	Lithuania
257	Darjeeling	1,842,034	14.47	971	79.92	585	Guinea-Bissau
295	South Dinajpur	1,670,931	11.16	954	73.86	753	Bahrain

See also

• List of RTO districts in West Bengal

External links

• Official website of Government of West Bengal