In a landmark administrative reform aimed at improving service delivery and easing governance for rural citizens, the Punjab Government is working on redefining the boundaries of rural development blocks across the State. The move marked a significant shift away from the outdated practice of organizing blocks based on police jurisdictions — specifically the operational areas of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) — and will now rely strictly on the village boundaries in accordance with district and legislative assembly limits.

The decision, approved in the Cabinet meeting held on April 11, is expected to have far-reaching benefits for villagers who have long suffered the inconvenience of overlapping administrative jurisdictions. Currently, there are numerous villages in Punjab where the development block, assembly constituency, and district do not align. As a result, residents are often compelled to visit offices in different districts just to get simple paperwork done, be it related to panchayats, development schemes, or basic civic services.

Under the new system, block boundaries will be rationalized in a way that they fall completely within a single district and match the constituency limits of that district. The revised blocks will include 80 to 120 villages each, and boundaries will be drawn based on village demarcations, rather than panchayat divisions.

“The earlier model based on DSP jurisdictions may have worked for policing, but it created chaos for governance,” said a senior official from the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, adding, “With this reorganization, we are correcting a long-standing mismatch between administrative convenience and ground realities.”

The department has issued formal instructions to all District Development and Panchayat Officers (DDPOs) to carry out this restructuring exercise by April 30. Each district will compile a detailed report, taking into account both population and geographical area, as per the 2011 Census. The finalized reports will be submitted to the Panchayats Department for further action.

In areas where a single panchayat includes multiple villages, the entire panchayat will be considered part of one block. This move is expected to bring uniformity, as the current blocks vary widely — some contain only 20-30 villages, while others have more than 50. This imbalance often led to unequal distribution of development resources and overburdened administrative machinery.

Importantly, this realignment may also result in a reduction in the total number of blocks across Punjab, as boundaries are consolidated and made more efficient. However, officials emphasized that the focus remains on accessibility, efficiency, and convenience for the public, rather than simply reducing numbers.

The reform is being welcomed as a step in the right direction. By bringing development blocks in sync with village realities and district boundaries, the Punjab Government is not only modernizing governance but also ensuring that rural citizens no longer have to shuttle between two or more districts for basic government services.

WHAT IS THE OLD SYSTEM

Earlier, the jurisdiction of the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) was used as a basis to define the boundaries of administrative blocks in Punjab. However, this led to confusion and inconvenience, as many villages ended up falling under different districts or assembly constituencies than their designated blocks. To fix this, the Government has now decided to scrap the old ‘DSP-based block structure’ and reorganize blocks based strictly on village boundaries, ensuring they fall within the same district and assembly constituency for smoother governance and better public service access.

·         Punjab Govt to redraw block boundaries based on village limits, not police (DSP) jurisdictions

·         Blocks will now align with district and assembly constituency boundaries

·         Each block to include 80-120 villages; restructuring to be completed by April 30

·         Move aims to reduce public inconvenience of dealing with multiple districts

·         Expected to lead to fewer, better-organized blocks for efficient governance

·         Reform already received Cabinet nod in April 11 meeting