Gadchiroli district (Marathi pronunciation: [ɡəɖt͡ʃiɾoliː]) is an administrative district in Maharashtra, India. The city of Gadchiroli is the administrative headquarters of the district.
Officer
Members of Parliament
- Namdeo Kirsan (INC)<br />
Guardian Minister
List of Guardian Minister
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Term of office
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|18 October 1999 – 16 January 2003
|-
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|27 January 2003 – 19 October 2004
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|1 November 2004 – 4 December 2008
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|8 December 2008 – 6 November 2009
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|7 November 2009 – 11 November 2010
|-
|R. R. Patil<br />
|11 November 2010 – 26 September 2014
|-
| Raje Ambrishrao Raje Satyawan Rao Atram<br />
| 31 October 2014 – 24 October 2019
|-
| Eknath Shinde<br />
| 9 January 2020 - 27 June 2022
|-
| Vijay Wadettiwar<br /><br>Additional charge
| 27 June 2022 - 29 June 2022
|-
| Devendra Fadnavis<br />
|24 September 2022 - 26 November 2024
|-
| Devendra Fadnavis<br />
|18 January 2025 - Incumbent
|}
District Magistrate/Collector
list of District Magistrate / Collector
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Term of office
|-
| Shri. Avishyant Panda (IAS)
| 2024 - Incumbent
|}
Extent and history
Maharashtra tapers in the east, where this district forms the south-east corner. The district is bordered by Gondia district to the north, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki, Kanker, Narayanpur and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh to the east, Jayashankar Bhupalpally district of Telangana to the south, and Mancherial and Komaram Bheem districts of Telangana and Chandrapur district to the west.
Gadchiroli District was created on 26 August 1982 by the separation of Gadchiroli and Sironcha talukas from Chandrapur district.
Strategic planning
The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor, in the eastern, central and southern parts of India where the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency has the strongest presence.
Divisions
The district is organized into six revenue sub-divisions: Gadchiroli, Aheri, Chamorshi, Etapalli, Desaiganj (Navi Wadsa), and Kurkheda. Each sub-division is further split into two talukas. The Gadchiroli sub-division includes Gadchiroli and Dhanora talukas, while the Chamorshi sub-division consists of Chamorshi and Mulchera talukas. Aheri sub-division covers Aheri and Sironcha talukas, and Etapalli sub-division includes Etapalli and Bhamragad talukas. The Wadsa (Desaiganj) sub-division comprises Wadsa and Armori talukas, and the Kurkheda sub-division contains Kurkheda and Korchi talukas. The district has to 557 gram panchayats (village councils) and 1,688 Revenue Villages. Additionally, there are 12 panchayat samitis (local government development blocks). The district has three municipalities: Gadchiroli, Wadsa (Desaiganj), and Armori.
Following the delimitation of the constituencies in 2008, the district had three Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) constituencies: Gadchiroli, Armori and Aheri. All of these are part of the newly carved Gadchiroli-Chimur Lok Sabha constituency.
Natural geography
Established on 26 August 1982
The main river basin of the district is the Godavari, which flows west-to-east and forms the southern boundary of the district. The major tributaries of the Godavari are the Indravati and the Pranhita, the latter of which is formed by the confluence of the Wainganga and the Wardha near Chaprala village of Chamorshi taluka.
Dhanora, Etapalli, Aheri and Sironcha talukas in the eastern part of the district are covered by forest. Hills are found in Bhamragad, Tipagad, Palasgad and Surjagad area. The eastern part of Gadchiroli, bordering Chhattisgarh state, is mainly hilly and is tribal-dominated, similar to neighbouring Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Gadchiroli district has a population of 1,072,942, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Rhode Island. This gives it a ranking of 424th in India (out of a total of 640).