Jammu, February 7, 2026 : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday made it clear that the government has no plans to create new administrative units at present, stressing that the priority is to operationalise the units already sanctioned.
Replying to supplementary questions in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said the issue of creating new units should rest for now.
“This issue should end here. The government, as of now, has no intention to open new administrative units,” Abdullah told the House.
He said several administrative units that were earlier approved have not been made fully functional, and addressing these gaps is the government’s foremost responsibility.
“It is our responsibility to operationalise them, to make them function properly and to put systems in place wherever gaps need to be filled,” he said.
Abdullah noted that many MLAs have raised concerns that administrative units established in their constituencies exist only on paper.
“The units that were opened have not been operationalised. Our first responsibility is to make them functional,” he added.
The Chief Minister assured the House that new administrative units will not be created arbitrarily and that the matter is being handled with seriousness.
“After making them functional, we will take necessary steps wherever new administrative units need to be established,” he said.
Responding to a query by MLA Dr Rameshwar Singh, Abdullah recalled that nine new sub-divisions, 50 tehsils and 99 niabats were sanctioned on October 21, 2014, including Lohai and Duggan as tehsils. However, the order was kept in abeyance in 2018, except for a few tehsils—Vilgam and Qalamabad (Kupwara), Singhpora and Narwav (Baramulla), Bhella (Doda) and Ramsu (Ramban)—which remained operational.
The statement signals a policy shift towards consolidation and efficiency, with the government focusing on strengthening existing administrative structures before expanding further.
