Punjab Government Plans to Split Lahore into Two Districts After Basant Festival

Lahore: The Punjab government is planning to split the Lahore city district into two administrative districts, Lahore North and Lahore South, with implementation expected after the Basant festival, officials said. The district administration has already forwarded the required data to the provincial government.

A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plan is close to final approval and has received endorsement from the highest level in the province. He added that the new administrative structure is expected to be introduced after Basant.

Under the proposed division, Lahore North is expected to include Wagah, Ravi, Saddar, Shalimar, City and Cantt tehsils, while Lahore South will likely consist of Iqbal Town, Model Town, Raiwind and Nishtar tehsils.

Efforts to divide Lahore have been under consideration for several years. In 2017, a plan was prepared to split the city into four districts in view of increasing population and administrative pressure. However, the proposal did not move forward due to political and bureaucratic obstacles.

Later in 2019 and 2020, new proposals were drafted to divide Lahore into either three or two districts, along with the creation of additional tehsils. Although impact studies were also discussed to maintain Lahore’s historical identity, progress remained slow because of administrative and political delays.

Officials say the current initiative is being pursued more seriously to improve governance and better address civic challenges including traffic congestion, parking issues, pollution, smog, encroachments and service delivery. One officer noted that managing a city of nearly 25 million people through a single district administration creates limitations in handling day-to-day civic problems effectively.

There have also been proposals to increase the number of tehsils from 10 to 12, though officials expect such changes may face resistance from the bureaucracy.

The Punjab government believes that bifurcating Lahore into two districts will improve administrative efficiency and ensure better public services for the city’s growing population.

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