India Administrative Divisions

India’s Administrative Divisions refer to the smaller administrative units, comprised of various subdivisions. There are 28 states and six Union Territories in addition to the one National Capital Territory so in all, there are seven Union Territories. The smaller local government units are governed by State Statutes and the Union Territories are subject to the Union Parliament.

In rural areas, the smaller subdivisions are called villages and blocks. In large urban areas, these are replaced by Urban Local Bodies. Sub-Districts, or Tehsils, refer to several villages in one cluster while Hobli refers to only a few villages in a group. There are over 250 000 villages in India.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

The legislative and controlling division and running of any country is a complex and vital aspect of its governance, if it is to be effective and to the advantage of its citizens. India’s Administrative Divisions are sub-national and are made up of villages, municipalities, blocks, clusters of villages, and so on. Some cultures refer to the same concept by different names.

The villages and blocks are found exclusively in the rural areas of the country, of which there are many. Urban Local Bodies have been instituted in the urban areas as their administrative units. Their primary function is to maintain the infrastructure of the city or town and to provide the necessary services to its community (for example, a fire department, a police department, ambulances, etc…). There are well over 3200 Urban Local Bodies throughout India. The ones governing large areas are usually called corporations, while the ones running smaller areas are often referred to as municipalities. These bodies generally have a representative and a managing committee.

The Administrative Divisions are behoved to follow the laws of the State or Territories. Certain States have sub-divisions, which are made up of a number of blocks. These are called pargana, anuvibhag or mahakuma and can be found in places like Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Tehsils and Hobli refer to clusters or groups of villages. Villages are the lowest level of sub-dividing and there are over a quarter of a million villages in India. In the cases of villages, a body is chosen to control population groups of 500 people at a time. This usually means that several villages need to be combined in order to achieve a combined population of this number.

Municipalities are appointed in urban and suburban areas. They are called Municipal Corporations in large urban areas, Municipal Councils in small urban areas and Town Councils in suburban areas. The municipality is responsible for the town or city in terms of its services and infrastructure (which includes the building and maintenance of roads, the provision of sufficient shopping malls, and so on).