What new revenue districts mean for Delhi residents

The Delhi Government’s recent decision to reorganise and increase the number of revenue districts marks a significant administrative reform, which has been long demanded by residents, in the city.

The city now has three new revenue districts—Outer North, Central North and Old Delhi—while Shahdara has been axed as a district and the areas under it have been shifted to Northeast and East districts.

For years, the national capital operated with non-uniform and overlapping boundaries across its key departments, including revenue, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB), police districts and various planning units.

Each of these systems evolved separately, resulting in mismatched geographical limits that created duplication of work, fragmented service delivery and widespread confusion among citizens about which office to approach for a particular service.

To address this, the government approved a reorganisation that not only increased the number of revenue districts from 11 to 13 but also proposed that all departmental boundaries be made co-terminus with these newly defined districts and sub-divisions.

This alignment is expected to eliminate jurisdictional overlaps. For instance, a single revenue district earlier often spanned three to five different MCD zones, leading to contradictory responsibilities and delays in decision-making. Under the new system, such inconsistencies will be removed, giving each district a clear and seamless chain of accountability.

Earlier, parts of the MCD’s Najafgarh zone overlapped with the New Delhi district, while areas of the MCD’s Karol Bagh zone overlapped with the North-West district which are geographically far. For example, the resident of some parts of Najafgarh would assume their revenue district would be West or South-West, but since a few areas of Najafgarh came under the MCD zone they were actually under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi district. However, after the announcement of the new districts and the reorganisation, the civic agencies and revenue department shall have the same boundaries, leaving no space for confusion.

A central feature of this reform is the creation of ‘Mini-Secretariats’ in every district. These will act as single-point administrative hubs, where offices of major public-facing departments will be housed under one roof.

Currently, citizens often travel to multiple buildings scattered across different zones to complete tasks such as registrations, certification, licencing etc. By consolidating these services at the Mini-Secretariats, the administration aims to improve accessibility, reduce travel time and offer clearer and faster service delivery.

The reform also strengthens digitisation efforts by ensuring that digital platforms—such as land records (Bhulekh), e-district services and GIS systems—operate on a common territorial map, enabling seamless data integration and reducing errors.