Chennai: Vellore district is to be divided into three districts with headquarters at Vellore, Tirupattur and Ranipet.
Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami made the announcement after unfurling the national flag at the ramparts of Fort St George in Chennai this morning on account of Independence Day.
Palaniswami said dividing Vellore district was following the consideration of representations from ministers, MLAs and the general public.
Two new districts with Ranipet and Tirupattur as headquarters will be carved out of Vellore and K V Kuppam in Vellore district will be upgraded into a new taluk, he said.
Vellore will continue to function as a separate district.
Vellore is one of the largest districts in Tamilnadu by area. It has 13 Assembly constituencies and the district is divided between three Lok Sabha constituencies — Vellore, Arakkonam and Tiruvannamalai.
Palaniswami had recently announced new districts of Chengalpet and Tenkasi and with the two new districts announced today, Tamilnadu is set to have a total of 37 districts.
The Chief Minister also asserted his government’s commitment to the two-language formula.
Quoting late chief minister J Jayalalithaa, he expressed his government’s commitment to the two-language formula of Tamil and English. He also announced hike in the pension of freedom fighters and their families.
This is the third time Palaniswami is hoisting the national flag as Chief Minister.
Earlier, in his Independence Day message, the Chief Minister said, “On this happy occasion, let the people of Tamil Nadu take a pledge to work for making India a superpower and Tamil Nadu the numero uno State in the country, by shunning differences on caste, creed and religious lines.”
Governor Banwarilal Purohit said in his message, “May the spirit of freedom fill the air, and care and concern for fellow Indians dominate our hearts and minds. We owe all this in substantial measure to the freedom fighters of yesteryear, who silently underwent enormous sacrifice, sufferings and hardship.”
He added: “Let us resolve unto ourselves, to contribute all our might for the sake of the nation with true dedication and a spirit of service.”