StatesJharkhand
Jharkhand Congress splits Dhanbad and East Singhbhum units into city and rural wings
Mallikarjun Kharge has approved separate urban and rural district committees for Jharkhand's two biggest industrial towns. Sitting district presidents will run both halves for now.
Key points
- Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved the split of the two district units.
- All 55 wards of Dhanbad Municipal Corporation will form a city district committee.
- Current district presidents will head the new rural committees and stay in charge of the city units until further orders.
The Congress has split its district committees in Dhanbad and East Singhbhum, Jharkhand’s two largest industrial districts, into separate urban and rural units.
Party president Mallikarjun Kharge approved the proposal from the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, and the decision was conveyed in a letter from K C Venugopal, the party’s general secretary in charge of organisation. State Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh has accepted the restructuring. The only reason given is to make the organisation stronger. The new set-up brings the two towns closer to the arrangement already in place in Ranchi.
How the districts are divided
In Dhanbad, all 55 wards of the municipal corporation will make up a new city district Congress committee. The rural committee will cover seven blocks: Baliapur, Govindpur, Nirsa, Topchanchi, Tundi, Baghmara and Kaliyasol.
In East Singhbhum, the urban committee takes in Jamshedpur’s industrial area, the old JNAC limits, the Golmuri, Telco and Birsanagar block committees in Jamshedpur East, the Jugsalai municipal council, the Mango municipal corporation area, and the Mango, Sakchi, Kadma-Sonari and Bistupur block committees. The rural committee covers Ghatshila, Baharagora, Dhalbhumgarh, Chakulia, Gudabanda, Dumaria, Musabani, Potka, Patamda and Boram. A new Jamshedpur Rural block committee will be carved out of 55 panchayats in the Jugsalai and Potka assembly seats.
Who runs them for now
As an interim step, the current district presidents of both districts will become presidents of the new rural committees. They will also keep charge of the urban committees until further orders.
Kamlesh has asked office-bearers, district in-charges and the district presidents concerned to get the organisation ready and work together on the change. No date has been set for naming separate city presidents.