Palwal district was created on 15 August 2008. It is the 21st district of Haryanastate in Delhi NCR region of northern India. Palwal City is the headquarters of the district. It is part of the Braj region.
The city is situated 60 km (37 mi) from Delhi, 29 km (18 mi) from Faridabad and 50 km (31 mi) from Gurugram on the Delhi-Agra national highway. The area of the city is 40 km2 (15 sq mi).[1]
Background
Etymology
According to legend, the city of Palwal is named for the demon Palwalasur who was said to have ruled during the reign of Pandavas.[citation needed]
Palwal is supposed to figure in the earliest Aryan traditions under the name of Apelava, part of the Pandava kingdom of Indraprastha, which was later restored by Vikramaditya.[2]
During the reign of Mughal empire, the freedom fighter Kanha Rawat carried forward the legacy of Jat leader Gokula to fight against Aurangazeb. After Kanha refused to convert his religion to Islam, Aurangzeb had him buried alive at Rawatpara.[3][a] A statue of Kanha was unveiled inside the park in February 2014 by Vishvendra Singh - the scion of Bharatpur State.[5][6]Kanha Rawat Memorial Park was constructed around his samadhi at his native Bahin village in Hathin tehsil.
On 15 August 1979, Gurgaon district was divided, with Palwal becoming part of the new Faridabad district.[9] Later, Palwal became the 21st district of Haryana on 15 August 2008.
Administration
Palwal district comprises 282 villages, 237 gram panchayats, one municipal council, two municipal committees, three sub-divisions, four development blocks and three tehsils. The sub-divisions are under the control of sub-divisional magistrate while each development block is under the control of a block development and panchayat officer. All the blocks are covered under Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna and other developmental programmes. Developmental programmes are overseen by the additional deputy commissioner-cum chief executive officer, DRDA Palwal. The district is under the overall charge of the deputy commissioner who is also the chairman of the District
Rural Development Agency.
The Forest Department aims to increase forestation for soil conservation in the district, in line with the National Forests Policy of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. According to the plan, about one-third of the geographical area should be under tree cover. In order to achieve this objective, large-scale plantings have been undertaken by the community, panchayat, government and private land over the last 20 years. Saplings of eucalyptus, shisham, neem, and other fruit plants were distributed free of costs to farmers to plant in their fields.
Economy and infrastructure
Palwal consists of agricultural and commercial areas, and has many temples, schools, colleges and banks. It also contains developed areas like Housing board colony, Kalra colony, New colony, main market, shivapuri, Krishna colony, kailash nagar, shiv colony, camp colony and Huda sector 2. There is a main chowk (English: market) called the Heart of Palwal. The government plans to develop the economy of Palwal in line with nearby cities like Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Hodal, Aligarh, and Mathura.[citation needed]
Palwal has an annual festival known as "Baldev Chhat Ka Mela" which celebrates the legend of Balarama killing the demon Palwasur during the reign of Pandavas. There is also a temple dedicated to Balaram near the chowk (marketplace) of the municipal office.
^In accordance with the "al atuba ayat no five" (Surah at-Taubah (Repentance) 9:5), which states "And when the sacred months have passed, then kill them wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakāh, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allāh is Forgiving and Merciful."[4]
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