Pratapgarh district is the 33rd district of Rajasthan, created on 26 January 2008. It is a part of Udaipur Division and has been carved out from the erstwhile tehsils of

Chittorgarh Chittorgarh (also Chittor or Chittaurgarh) is a major city in Rajasthan state of western India. It lies on the Berach River, a tributary of the Banas, and is the administrative headquarters of Chittorgarh District. It was a major stronghol ...

Udaipur Udaipur () ( ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic ...

and Banswara districts. Pratapgarh town (Pin Code 312605, STD Code 01478) is the administrative headquarters of the district.

History

The rulers of 'Partabgadh-Raj' were descendants of Sisodia clan of Mewar Rajputs.

Vasundhara Raje Vasundhara Raje Scindia (born 8 March 1953) is an Indian politician, who has held two terms as the chief minister of Rajasthan. She was previously a minister in the Union Cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and was India's first Minister of Micro, ...

, the then

Chief Minister of Rajasthan The chief minister of Rajasthan is the chief executive of the Indian state of Rajasthan. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's '' de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief ...

, announced Pratapgarh to be an independent district in 2008. Well known for pure gold and glass-inlay handmade unique jewellery called "

Thewa Thewa is a special art of jewelry making which involves fusing of intricately worked-out sheet gold on molten glass. It evolved in Pratapgarh district, Rajasthan India. Its origin dates back to the rajput era. Process Thewa is a traditional art ...

", Pratapgarh, as the 33rd district of Rajasthan, came into existence on 26 January 2008, comprising five Tehsils/ sub-divisions, Pratapgarh, Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod and Peepalkhoont. The district is dotted with ''good number of ancient and historical sites'', but in want of a detailed study either by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

or by the Department of Archaeology and Museums,

Government of Rajasthan The Government of Rajasthan is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Rajasthan and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor of Rajasthan, a judiciary and a legislative. Jaipur is the capital of Raja ...

, there are no '

protected monument In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

s' as such. A few important still unexplored archaeological and historical sites include ''Avleshwara'', Ghotaavarshika (''Ghotarsi''), ''Sidheriya'', Gandharvpur (''Gandher'') ''Jaanagarh'', ''Veerpur'' and many others. Sita Mata sanctuary houses

pre-historic Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

rock engravings. Ghotarasi village is located around 10 km from the town, which has an Old Suryanarayan temple, Gotameswara is an ancient lord Shiva temple situated 18 km from Pratapgarh near Arnod town. It is believed that this temple has a secret tunnel made by ''Pandvas'' during their 'agyatwaas' period, which connects this place to

Ujjain Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: �d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Uj ...

city.

Creation

People of Pratapgarh were demanding to make it an independent

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

separate from

Chittorgarh district Chittorgarh district is one of the 33 districts of Rajasthan state in western India. The historic city of Chittaurgarh is the administrative headquarters of the district. The district was established on 1 August 1948 by integrating portions of ...

, of which it was a part. The

declared on 6 July 2006 its intention to create Pratapgarh as a separate district. The process of officially declaring Pratapgarh as a new district took some time. Chief Minister

declared Praratapgarh as 33rd district of Rajasthan on 8 March 2007 in legislative assembly's budget session. Pratapgarh, Arnod and Chhoti Sadri tehsils from

, Peepal Khoont from Banswada district and Dhariyawad from Udaipur district were unified together to form this new district. Flag of Partabgarh

Geography

;Location Pratapgarh is located at 24.03° N 74.78° E with an average elevation of 580 meters (1610 feet above mean sea level). It is said to be the second highest place (?) in Rajasthan after

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at abov ...

. Situated on the junction of the Aravali mountain ranges and the

Malwa Plateau Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also sy ...

its unique location prominently carries the geological characteristics of these both. ;Area The geographical area of Pratapgarh is 4,11,736 hectares, out of which forest area is 1,20,976 hectares (2009-'10). ;Climate, Soil, Topography and Minerals The average annual rainfall is 856 mm. The

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former ...

is mainly highly fertile Black Cotton Soil made of

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natura ...

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

s. The major rivers of the district are ''Jakham'', ''Mahi'', and ''Siwana'' or ''shiv''. Other seasonal rivers are ''Som'', ''Era'', and ''Karmoi''. Out of five, four sub divisions except Chhoti Sadri, are notified

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

blocks, where no major industry or

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the econom ...

activity is allowed under law. However, in non-forest regions of Chhoti Sadri (and part of Pratapgarh and Dhariyawad), small scale

activities are in operation extracting mainly

red ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

calcite Calcite is a carbonate mineral and the most stable polymorph of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). It is a very common mineral, particularly as a component of limestone. Calcite defines hardness 3 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, based on scratc ...

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica ( silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical f ...

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) felds ...

and

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in the ...

Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

, Building-stone and

Limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

are also available in small quantities.

Divisions

Pratapgarh district comprises 5 sub-divisions, Arnod,

Chhoti Sadri Chhoti Sadri is a town and a municipality in Pratapgarh district in the state of Rajasthan, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most ...

, Dhariawad, Peepal Khoont and Pratapgarh. The number of revenue villages in Arnod Tehsil is 178, in Choti Saari Tehsil the number is 141, Dariyawad Tehsil is 249 whereas Peepal khoont Tehsil has 23 and in Pratapgarh Tehsil there are 330 revenue villages. The major villages of Pratapgarh district include Dhamottar, Kulmipura, Sidhhpura, Rathanjana, Dhaula Pani, Devgarh, Salamgarh, Parsola, Ghantali, Arnod, Gandher, Asawsata, Kulthana, Avleshwar, Rajora, Kuni, Hathuniya, Pratappura, Mokhampura, Barotha, Basera, Basad, Varmandal, Bajranggarh, Suhagpura, Rampuriya, Chiklad, Gyaspur, Barawarda, Bardia, Thada, Panmodi, Jhansadi, Gautmeshwara, Dalot, Ghantali, Peepalkhoont, Rajpuriya, Bambori and Bagwas & Kherot, Badhi Shakthali.

District administration

The district is overseen by a

District Collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal revenu ...

Police infrastructure

Pratapgarh has 13

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

s at Pratapgarh (city), Chhotee Sadri, Dhariyawad, Arnod, Peepalkhoont, Dhaula Pani, Dhamottar, Rathanjana, Salamgarh, Suhagpura, Devgarh, Hathuniya, Ghantali and 16 Police-chowkis are under them. One District

Jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...

is located in Pratapgarh and a sub-jail in Chhoti Sadri, where under trial prisoners are housed.

Judiciary

A district and sessions' court was established in Pratapgarh in 1944, followed by one CJM court, one ACJM court the court of Additional Chief Judicial

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

, (in Chhoti Sadri) in 1980, Junior Judicial Magistrate's court in 1983, Additional Judicial Magistrate's court in 1989, Scheduled Castes-Scheduled Tribes Special Trial Court in 1992, Special court for

Narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiate ...

Cases in 1994, a District Consumers' Court, two ACJM courts (in Arnod and Dhariyawad) in 2008, a "Rural Court" in 2010. and recently one MACT court and one family court in 2017, Thirteen revenue courts- those of the Revenue Appeallate Authority (1), Collector & DM (1), Additional Collector & ADM (1), SDMs(5) Tehsidars (5) are also working in the district..

Demographics

The

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

of Pratapgarh in 1881 AD was 79,568; whereas it was 1,10,530 in 1951. According to the 2011 census Pratapgarh district (Rajasthan) has a

of 867,848, roughly equal to the nation of

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

or the US state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

. This gives it a ranking of 472nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 22.84%. Pratapgarh has a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 982

females Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

for every 1000 males, and a

literacy rate Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

of 56.3%. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 6.96% and 63.42% of the population respectively. In 2011, Pratapgarh had population of 867,848 of which male and female were 437,744 and 430,104 respectively. In 2001 census, Pratapgarh had a population of 706,807 of which males were 359,021 and remaining 347,786 were females. Pratapgarh District population constituted 1.27 percent of total Rajasthan population. In 2001 census, this figure for Pratapgarh District was at 1.25 percent of Rajasthan population. There was change of 22.78 percent in the population compared to population as per 2001. In the previous census of India 2001, Pratapgarh District recorded increase of 27.09 percent to its population compared to 1991. The initial provisional data released by census India 2011, shows that density of Pratapgarh district for 2011 is 195 people per km². In 2001, Pratapgarh district density was at 172 people per km². Pratapgarh district administers 4,449 square kilometers of areas. With regards to Sex Ratio in Pratapgarh, it stood at 983 per 1000 male compared to 2001 census figure of 969. The average national sex ratio in India is 940 as per latest reports of Census 2011 Directorate. In 2011 census, child sex ratio is 933 girls per 1000 boys compared to figure of 953 girls per 1000 boys of 2001 census data. There were total 150,518 children under age of 0-6 against 142,692 of 2001 census. Of total 150,518 male and female were 77,856 and 72,662 respectively. Child Sex Ratio as per census 2011 was 933 compared to 953 of census 2001. In 2011, Children under 0-6 formed 17.34 percent of Pratapgarh District compared to 20.19 percent of 2001. There was net change of -2.85 percent in this compared to previous census of India.

Languages

At the time of the 2011 census, 26.10% of the population spoke Mewari, 22.25% Rajasthani, 21.90% Wagdi, 20.71%

Malvi The Malvi or Malavi, also known as Manthani or Mahadeopuri, is breed of zebu cattle from the Malwa plateau in western Madhya Pradesh, in central India. It is a good draught breed; the milk yield of the cows is low. The breed has been studie ...

and 7.98%

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

as their first language.

Economy

Major crops of this region are

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American English, North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous ...

, groundnuts,

soya beans Soya may refer to: Food * Soya bean, or soybean, a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean * Soya sauce, see soy sauce, a fermented sauce made from soybeans, roasted grain, water and salt Places * Sōya District, ...

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

, mustard, and some

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...

Opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

''is also a major crop of Pratapgarh''. There are 6,781 license holder-farmers in the district cultivating opium. The production of opium in 2011 in Pratapgarh district was 15,85,373.410 kg precisely as per statistics of District Opium Officer, Pratapgarh,

Bureau,

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

Irrigation

The major Irrigation project of the district is the Jakham Dam, located in Anooppura village of Pratapgarh Tehsil, 32 km from Dhariawad and 35 km from district headquarters. This dam was built on the Jakham river, which originates from a small

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

''Jakhamia'' in ''chhoti sadree'' subdivision. The Jakham dam's foundation was laid on 14 May 1968 by chief minister Mohan Lal Sukhadia, however, the actual construction-work of the dam started in 1969-70. The dam itself was completed in 1986, but took another twelve years for the completion of this

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

project in March 2000. Initially the

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

of the Jakham Dam was 5,015 MCft for irrigating 52,354

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre i ...

s of land. Out of its total water retention capacity of 5,015 MC ft, the usable water capacity is 4,671 MC ft. The cost of this project is 106.03 crore. The length of this Dam is 253 meters, out of which

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

is in 90 m in length. The area around the dam is hilly and rugged but interesting. 13 km from the main dam, Nangaliya pick up ware has been constructed with Left main

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

(39.90 km) and right main canal(34.12 km). Irrigation facility is being provided in 118 villages in Dhariawad sub-division.

Agriculture

Pratapgarh is one of the greenest districts of Rajasthan. Major crops, as indicated above, are

, soya bean and

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy '' Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which ...

. Agriculture is practiced both in the valleys and on the tableland on the hilltops. Common lands account for 40% of the total geographical area, nearly 30% of the common lands fall in the forest land category. The area is a Schedule V area, predominantly inhabited by the

tribal communities The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...

. Average

landholding In real estate, a landed property or landed estate is a property that generates income for the owner (typically a member of the gentry) without the owner having to do the actual work of the estate. In medieval Western Europe, there were two compet ...

s are small and canal irrigation facilities are limited only to Dahriyawad and Peepal Khoont tehsils, therefore agriculture is mostly rain-fed. Besides farming, the tribal communities depend upon the forests for their food, fodder and fuel (wood requirements). Many of the members of tribal communities do migrate to nearby towns in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...

to find a job as farm-labourers or construction workers. The production of wheat in 2009–10 was 1,90,585 MT in the district, of Maize it was 1,28,984 MT followed by Soya bean as 1,69,133, Mustered as 8,296 MT. Small quantity of Rice-production (989 MT) was also recorded.

Public representatives

In 2009 the number of members of the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-p ...

(the Parliament of India) was three. Dr. Ms.

Girija Vyas Girija Vyas (born 8 July 1946) is an Indian politician, poet and author. She was a Member of the 15th Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India, from the Chittorgarh constituency and former president of National Commission for Wome ...

represented Pratapgarh in the 15th Lok Sabha. In 2014 general elections to the

, Chandra Prakash Joshi is the current MP of the Chittorgarh Constituency replacing Ms. Girija Vyas. In the 13th Assembly Members of the Legislative Assembly were Nand Lal Meena (

Bhartiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...

) (Pratapgarh), Udailal Anjna (Chittaurgarh-Chhoti Sadree-Indian National Congress-) Nanalal Ninama (Banswada-Peepal Khoont-Indian National Congress), ), Nagraj Meena Dhariawad (ST)(Indian National Congress), Prakash Chaudhry (Badi Sadri-Pratapgarh-(Indian National Congress). Out of these five MLAs directly elected from the district are from Dhariyawad and Pratapgarh constituencies. In 2013 general elections to the Assembly were held electing the following MLAs- Pratapgarh- Nandlal Meema, BJP Dhariawad- Gautam Lal Meena, BJP The elected Zila Parishad (2010) headed by Badri Lal Patidar consists of 17 members, whereas the Pratapgarh

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

(Chairman-Kamlesh Doshi) has 25 and Chhoti Sadri (Chairman-Shyam sundar Agarwal) has 20 elected members (2010). There are 152

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s in Pratapgarh with 1630 elected members in all. Pratapgarh Block has 42 gram panchayats, with 21 members in

Panchayat Samiti Panchayat samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/mandal) level in India. It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block. It has been said to be the "panchayat ...

, 28 gram panchayats in Arnod Block with 15 members in Panchayat Samiti, 24 gram panchayats in Chhoti Sadri with 15 Panchayat Samiti members, 31 gram panchayats in Dhariyawad Block with 17 members in Panchayat Samiti; and 27 gram panchayats in Peepalkhoont Block with 15 members of the Panchayat Samiti. New elections for class 'A' Krishi Upaj Mandi of Pratapgarh have taken place (August 2011).

Transport

Pratapgarh is well connected with major cities in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

by road . ''Daily Bus Services'' connect Pratapgarh with Chittaurgarh (110 km ), Banswara (80 km),

(165 km), Dungarpur (95 km), Rajsamand (200 km),

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the ...

(435 km),

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

(421 km) Neemach (62 km )

Ratlam Ratlam, known historically as Ratnapuri (lit. ''gem city''), is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam di ...

(85 km),

Mandsaur Mandsaur is a city and a municipality in Mandsaur district located on Border of Mewar and Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh state of central India. It is the administrative headquarters of Mandsaur District. The ancient Pashupatinath Temple is ...

(32 km) and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

(705 km) and many other cities in Rajasthan. Private Bus operators are also providing regular connectivity to Pratapgarh from nearby places. The total length of roads in the district is 1879 km, with more than 7,500 registered light and heavy vehicles. It is the only district without rail-connectivity in Rajasthan state. However, as a result of untiring efforts by ex-district collector

Hemant Shesh Hemant Shesh (born 28 December 1952) is an Indian Hindi writer, poet and civil servant. Biography Hemant Shesh completed his post graduate education in Sociology from the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur in 1977. He then joined the Rajasth ...

, the

agreed to pursue vigorously with

Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure ...

to connect Pratapgarh with

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union ( ...

from

(32 km), for which appropriate financial contribution to GOI may also be made by the state, if required. It is therefore, presumed that a new

railway track A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleeper ...

ultimately shall be laid from Mandsaur to Pratapgarh, as publicly assured and announced by Shri Ashok Gahlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan on 18 May 2011 at Pratapgarh. Shri Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

, introducing the Railway Budget 2012-2013 on 14 March 2012 has declared to undertake a survey of laying railway track between Mandsaur and Pratapgarh. This new line includes in the GOI list of 111 New Line Surveys to be taken up during 2012-13.7Shri Dinesh Trivedi, Minister of Railways, introducing the Railway Budget 2012-2013 on 14 March 2012 has declared to undertake a survey of laying railway track between Mandsaur and Pratapgarh. An

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

was approved by the Government of Rajasthan in April 2011 and being constructed in Varmandal village (13 km from Pratapgarh). Temporary

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

s are in operation at four places in Pratapgarh, Dhariyawad, Peepalkhoont and Chhoti Sadri.

Flora and fauna

* Sita Mata Wildlife Sanctuary

Academic sources

*John Mc Meekin, Arms & Flags of the Indian Princely States, 1990. *The court Fee and Revenue Stamps of the Princely States of India, Adolph Koeppel & Raymon D. Manners, New York 1983. *'Zila Pratapgarh Nirdeshika', Edited and Published by District Administration, Pratapgarh, 2008

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratapgarh District (Rajasthan) States and territories established in 2008 2007 establishments in Rajasthan Districts in Udaipur division