Assam, anortheasternstate ofIndia, is divided into 35 administrative geographical units calleddistricts. Assam has 35 districts.
| Lower Assam division (HQ –Guwahati) | North Assam division (HQ –Tezpur) | Upper Assam division (HQ –Jorhat) | Central Assam division (HQ –Nagaon) | Barak Valley division (HQ –Silchar) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A district of an Indian state is an administrative geographical unit, headed by the District Commissioner (DC), which combines the offices of the District Magistrate ultimately responsible for maintaining law and order and District Collector responsible for collection of the revenue. Generally, an officer belonging to theIndian Administrative Service becomes the DC but occasionally officers belonging to the Assam Civil Service do get appointed. The DC is assisted by a number of officials belonging to different wings of the administrative services of the state.
The districts of Assam are grouped together in [Divisions of Assam, five regional divisions], headed by a Commissioner. A superintendent of Police, an officer belonging toIndian Police Service is entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining law and order and related issues. The police administration inGuwahati City is headed by the Commissioner of Police, which started functioning from 1 January 2015.
Before India's independence in 1947, Assam had 13 districts. The districts wereCachar (14 August 1832),Darrang (1833),Goalpara,Kamrup,Lakhimpur,Nagaon,Sivasagar, Jayantia parganas, Garo hills, Lushai hills, Naga hills, Sylhet and NEFA. The British India protectorate 4 princely states under Assam state were Tripura, Khasi states, Koch Bihar and Manipur (included during Independence). Sylhet district had been given to East Pakistan at the time of the Partition. After many inclusion and exclusion during the independence and later till 1972, Assam formed the present shape with its prime 7 districts. The other 6 districts curved out of Assam; Jayantia, Garo and Khasi were combined and becameMeghalya State; Lushiai hills becameMizoram; Naga hills becameNagaland; NEFA becameArunachal Pradesh; the both princely statesTripura andManipur included in Assam and later separated as state and Koch Bihar became part of West Bengal.
On 17 November 1951, United Mikir and North Cachar Hills district curved out of Golaghat, Nagaon, Cachar, Jayantia and Naga hills districts.
On 2 February 1970, Mikir Hills district curved out of North Cachar Hills.
On 2 October 1976,Dibrugarh district curved out of Lakhimpur and the Name of Mikir Hills district changed toKarbi Anglong district.
On 1 July 1983,Barpeta district curved out of Kamrup; On 14 JulySonitpur district curved out of Darrang;Jorhat district curved out of Sibsagar,Dhubri district andKokrajhar district curved out of Goalpara;Karimganj district curved out of Cachar.
On 14 August 1985,Nalbari district curved out of Kamrup.
On 15 August 1987,Golaghat district curved out of Sibsagar.
On 29 September 1989,Hailakandi district curved out of Cachar andBongaigaon district curved out of Goalpara and Kokrajhar. On 1 OctoberTinsukia district curved out of Dibrugarh. On 14 OctoberDhemaji district curved out of Lakhimpur and on 26 NovemberMarigaon district curved out of Nagaon.
On 3 February 2003,Kamrup Metropolitan district curved out of Kamrup.
On 1 June 2004,Baksa district curved out of Barpeta, Nalbari, and Kamrup; on 4 June,Chirang district curved out of Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar. On 14 June,Udalguri district curved out of Darrang and Sonitpur; along withKokrajhar district formedBTAD.
On 1 April 2010, the name of North Cachar Hills district changed toDima Hasao.
On 15 August 2015,Tarun Gogoi,the Chief Minister of Assam, announced the formation of five new districts in the state,[1] taking the total number from 27 to 32. The five new districts are the following:[1][2]Biswanath (carved out ofSonitpur);Charaideo (carved out ofSivasagar);Hojai (carved out ofNagaon);South Salmara-Mankachar (carved out ofDhubri);West Karbi Anglong (carved out ofKarbi Anglong).
On 26 January 2016, 2 more districts were announced, but on 7 October 2016, the government has withdrawn district status ofEast Kamrup andSouth Kamrup due to inadequate infrastructure. The two sub-divisions of East Kamrup district - viz. Chandrapur and Sonapur, is now part ofKamrup Metropolitan district. The sub-divisions of South Kamrup district is now part of Kamrup Rural district.
On 27 June 2016, one more district was announced bySarbananda Sonowal, taking the total number from 32 to 33 which isMajuli (carved out of the Northern parts ofJorhat). It is the first river island district of India.[3]
On 8 August 2020, the Assam cabinet approved a proposal to makeBajali (curved out ofBarpeta) the 34th district of Assam.[4] The Assam Cabinet headed by Chief MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarma approved the proposal to make Tamulpur curved out ofBaksa district a full-fledged district.[5] On 23 January 2022,Tamulpur was formally declared as a 35th district of Assam.[6]
On 31 December 2022, the Assam Cabinet decided to merge four newly carved districts with existing four districts.[7] These districts were,
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Bisha Sarma said it is a temporary measure before ECI delimitation process in the state and government may reconsider it.[8]
On 25 August 2023, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the decision to recreate the four newly merged districts ofBiswanath,Hojai,Bajali, andTamulpur from their original districts.[9] Therefore, the total number of districts in Assam has once again become 35.
The areas and populations of the 35 districts are given below:[10][11]
| Districts | Headquarters | Formation day | Population (2011)[12] | Area (km²) | Population Density (/km²) | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baksa# | Mushalpur | 950,075 | 2,457 | 387 | .svg) | |
| Bajali | Pathsala | 253,816 | 418 | 610 | .svg) | |
| Barpeta | Barpeta | 1,693,622 | 3182 | 532 | .svg) | |
| Biswanath | Biswanath Chariali | 612,491 | 1415 | 430 | .svg) | |
| Bongaigaon | Bongaigaon | 738,804 | 1,093 | 676 | .svg) | |
| Cachar | Silchar | 1,736,319 | 3,786 | 459 | .svg) | |
| Charaideo[1] | Sonari[13] | 471,418 | 1,069 | 441 | .svg) | |
| Chirang# | Kajalgaon | 482,162 | 1,170 | 412 | .svg) | |
| Darrang | Mangaldai | 928,500 | 1,585 | 586 | .svg) | |
| Dhemaji | Dhemaji | 14 October 1989 | 686,133 | 3,237 | 212 | .svg) |
| Dhubri | Dhubri | 1,394,144 | 1,608 | 867 | .svg) | |
| Dibrugarh | Dibrugarh | 2 October 1971 | 1,326,335 | 3,381 | 392 | .svg) |
| Dima Hasao## | Haflong | 214,102 | 4,890 | 44 | .svg) | |
| Goalpara | Goalpara | 1,008,183 | 1,824 | 553 | .svg) | |
| Golaghat | Golaghat | 15 August 1987 | 1,066,888 | 3,502 | 305 | .svg) |
| Hailakandi | Hailakandi | 659,296 | 1,327 | 497 | .svg) | |
| Hojai | Sankardev Nagar | 931,218 | 1,686 | 550 | .svg) | |
| Jorhat | Jorhat | 924,952 | 2,851 | 324 | .svg) | |
| Kamrup Metropolitan | Guwahati | 1,253,938 | 1,528 | 821 | .svg) | |
| Kamrup | Amingaon | 1,517,542 | 3,105 | 489 | .svg) | |
| Karbi Anglong### | Diphu | 2 February 1970 | 660,955 | 7,366 | 90 | .svg) |
| Sribhumi | Karimganj | 1,228,686 | 1,809 | 679 | .svg) | |
| Kokrajhar# | Kokrajhar | 887,142 | 3,169 | 280 | .svg) | |
| Lakhimpur | North Lakhimpur | 1,042,137 | 2,277 | 458 | .svg) | |
| Majuli | Garamur[14] | 167,304 | 880 | 190 | .svg) | |
| Morigaon | Morigaon | 957,423 | 1,704 | 562 | .svg) | |
| Nagaon | Nagaon | 2,823,768 | 3,973 | 711 | .svg) | |
| Nalbari | Nalbari | 771,639 | 2,257 | 342 | .svg) | |
| Sivasagar | Sivasagar | 679,632 | 2,668 | 255 | .svg) | |
| Sonitpur | Tezpur | 1,924,110 | 3,176 | 606 | .svg) | |
| South Salmara-Mankachar[1] | Hatsingimari[15] | 555,114 | 568 | 977 | .svg) | |
| Tamulpur | Tamulpur | 389,150 | 884 | 440 | .svg) | |
| Tinsukia | Tinsukia | 1 October 1989 | 1,327,929 | 3,790 | 350 | .svg) |
| Udalguri# | Udalguri | 831,688 | 1,852 | 449 | .svg) | |
| West Karbi Anglong###[1] | Hamren[16] | 15 August 2016 | 295,358 | 3,035 | 97 | .svg) |
## Districts underNC Hill autonomy
### Districts underKA autonomy
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