Gandhinagar: In a major administrative restructuring aimed at strengthening policing and border security, the Gujarat government has approved the creation of a new Banaskantha Police Range by bifurcating the existing Border Range. The headquarters of the newly formed range will be located at Palanpur.

The decision was taken following a proposal submitted by the office of the Director General of Police (DGP), Gujarat. Officials noted that the existing Border Range covered a vast geographical area of around 550 kilometres and included the districts of West Kutch, East Kutch, Patan and Banaskantha, all of which share an international land border with Pakistan. The large jurisdiction made effective supervision and monitoring of far-flung police stations increasingly difficult.

The government also considered the recent bifurcation of Banaskantha district and the formation of the new Vav-Tharad district, which has further increased administrative and policing requirements in the region. Additionally, Kutch district lies nearly 310 kilometres away from Banaskantha, creating logistical challenges in maintaining efficient command and control across the range.

According to the government resolution, the existing Border Range has jurisdiction over 406.87 km of international land border and 238 km of coastal area, making it one of the most strategically sensitive policing zones in the state. Authorities said the extensive operational responsibilities often posed challenges in law-and-order management, supervision and field inspections.

As part of the reorganisation, Morbi district, which geographically adjoins Kutch, has been shifted from the Rajkot Range to the Border Range. Officials stated that Morbi’s proximity to Kutch makes its inclusion in the Border Range administratively necessary.

Following the restructuring, the Border Range will comprise West Kutch (Bhuj), East Kutch (Gandhidham) and Morbi districts. The Rajkot Range will continue to include Rajkot Rural, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka and Surendranagar districts.

The newly created Banaskantha Range, headquartered at Palanpur, will consist of Banaskantha (Palanpur), Patan and Vav-Tharad districts. The government believes the new arrangement will improve administrative efficiency, strengthen border security oversight and enable better law-and-order management in the border districts of North Gujarat and Kutch. DeshGujarat