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Districts of Bhutan

Administrative and judicial district of Bhutan

Districts of Bhutan

Administrative and judicial district of Bhutan

A map of Bhutan showing its 20 dzongkhags
dzongkhags}}
A map of Bhutan showing its 20 dzongkhags
dzongkhags}} in [[Dzongkha
View of Tashichodzong in Thimphu
dzongkhag}} in Bhutan by population

The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts (Dzongkha: dz). Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia.

dz are the primary subdivisions of Bhutan. They possess a number of powers and rights under the Constitution of Bhutan, such as regulating commerce, running elections, and creating local governments. The Local Government Act of 2009 established local governments in each of the 20 dz overseen by the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs. Each dz has its own elected government with non-legislative executive powers, called a dz (district council). The dz is assisted by the dz administration headed by a dz (royal appointees who are the chief executive officer of each dz). Each dz also has a dz court presided over by a dz (judge), who is appointed by the Chief Justice of Bhutan on the advice of Royal Judicial Service Council. The dz, and their residents, are represented in the Parliament of Bhutan, a bicameral legislature consisting of the National Council and the National Assembly. Each dz has one National Council representative. National Assembly representatives are distributed among the dz in proportion to their registered voter population as recommended by the Delimitation Commission, provided that "no dz shall have less than two and more than seven National Assembly constituencies."

As of the 2017 census, Thimphu is the most populous dz, with 138,736 residents; Gasa is the least populous, with 3,952 residents. Thimphu is the most densely populated, with 67.1 /km2, whereas Gasa is the least densely populated, with 1.3 /km2. The largest dz by land area is Wangdue Phodrang, encompassing 4,308 km2, while the smallest is Tsirang, encompassing 639 km2.

History

Medieval Bhutan was organized into provinces or regions headquartered in dz (castles/fortresses) which served as administrative centres for areas around them. The dz of Paro, Dagana and Trongsa were headed by dz (provincial lords/governors) while other dz were headed by dz (fortress lords). dz and dz gained power as the increasingly dysfunctional dual system of government eventually collapsed amid civil war. The victorious Penlop of Trongsa Ugyen Wangchuck gained dz sovereignty over the entire realm in 1907, marking the establishment of the modern Kingdom of Bhutan and the ascendancy of the House of Wangchuck.

At the direction of the fourth dz (Bhutan head of state), Jigme Singye Wangchuk,{{cite book|title=Education in Bhutan: Culture, Schooling and Gross National Happiness|series=Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects |url=http://www.education.gov.bt/wp-content/downloads/publications/publication/Education-in-Bhutan-Culture-Schooling-and-Gross-National-Happiness.pdf|access-date=2019-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609140949/http://www.education.gov.bt/wp-content/downloads/publications/publication/Education-in-Bhutan-Culture-Schooling-and-Gross-National-Happiness.pdf|archive-date=2019-06-09|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-981-10-1647-9|issn=1573-5397|lccn=2016948217

Four dz (zones) were established in 1988 and 1989: Zone I, including four western districts, seated at Chhukha; Zone II, including four west-central districts, seated at Damphu; Zone III, including four east-central districts, seated at Geylegphug; and Zone IV, including five eastern districts, seated at Yonphula; to "provide a more efficient distribution of personnel and administrative and technical skills." dz acted as the intermediary administrative divisions between the dz administration and the central government. Although Thimphu dz and Thimphu dz (municipality) were within the boundaries of Zone I, they stayed outside the zonal system. By 1991, however, only Eastern dz (Zone IV) was fully functional. Zone I, Zone II and Zone III were "indefinitely" disabled in early 1991. Zone IV also ceased to function in mid-1992. dz slowly lost relevance and went defunct as they were not included in the Constitution of Bhutan and the Local Government Act of 2009, which repealed the previous local governments and administrative divisions.

Under the dz (District Development Council Act) of 2002, a dz (administrator), assisted by a dz (deputy district collector), carry out administrative activities, while the DYT coordinates all developmental activities within the dz. Each DYT includes representatives of the municipalities and the towns within the dz, who elect a chairperson from among themselves. The DYTs also had non-voting members, which included the dz, the dz (dz (sub-district) head) (where a dz exists) and the dz officials from various sectors such as the chief engineer, and the planning, finance, education, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and health officers.

The Constitution of 2008 laid basic provisions for an elected dz and dz courts in each dz. The Local Government Act of 2009 further codified the election process of dz, the appointment process of dz, and the role of dz courts within the judicial system of Bhutan. It also repealed all previous acts and laws regarding local governments, including the dz of 2002.

Political structure

Under the Local Government Act of 2009, the dz is the non-legislative executive body of the dz, composed of the dz (dz head) and the dz (elected representatives of the dz) from each dz (block of villages), and representatives from the dz of that dz. They are empowered to enforce rules on health and public safety, regulate environmental pollution, advertise in regard to environmental aesthetics, regulate broadcast media in accordance with the Information, Communications, and Media Act, regulate gambling, and raise their own funds. They also oversee the dz. A dz, in turn, is responsible for maintaining law and order, and for enforcing the dz (rules for disciplined behavior).

{{transliteration|dz|Dzongkhags}}

A map of Bhutan showing the four dzongdeys.
Zone IV}}}}
NamePopulation
(2017)Population
(2005)ChangeLand area
(km)Population
densityNumber of
National Assembly
representativesNumber of
GewogsDzongdeyBumthangChhukhaDaganaGasaHaaLhuentseMongarParoPemagatshelPunakhaSamdrup JongkharSamtseSarpangThimphuTrashigangTrashiyangtseTrongsaTsirangWangdue PhodrangZhemgang
24
211
214
24
26
28
317
210
311
211
211
415
212
28
515
28
25
212
215
28
Bhutan{{change727145634982dec=1align="right"bold=oninvert=onbgcolour=#f2f2f2}}********47205
Dzongkhag Administration Office, Samdrup Jongkhar

Notes

Footnotes

References

References

  1. "Geography of Bhutan". Government of Bhutan.
  2. (2009-09-11). "Local Government Act of Bhutan 2009". [[Government of Bhutan]].
  3. (2010). "Bhutan: Decentralization and Good Governance". Asian Development Bank.
  4. (2008). "The Constitution of the Kingdom of Bhutan". Government of Bhutan.
  5. (2010). "Bhutan: Decentralization and Good Governance". Asian Development Bank.
  6. "Justices of Bhutan". Royal Court of Justice, Bhutan.
  7. (2010). "Bhutan: Decentralization and Good Governance". Asian Development Bank.
  8. (2008). "Election Act of the Kingdom of Bhutan 2008". Government of Bhutan.
  9. (2010). "Electoral System Design: The Case of Bhutan". International IDEA.
  10. Kinga, Sonam. (2009). "Polity, Kingship and Democracy: A Biography of the Bhutanese state". Ministry of Education, Royal Government of Bhutan.
  11. (Winter 2000). "Population and Governance in the mid-18th Century Bhutan, as Revealed in the Enthronement Record of Thugs-sprul 'Jigs med grags pa I (1725-1761)". Journal of Bhutan Studies.
  12. Phuntsho, Karma. (2013). "The History of Bhutan". [[Random House.
  13. (2015). "Multi-level Forest Governance in Asia: Concepts, Challenges and the Way Forward". [[SAGE Publishing.
  14. (1993). "Nepal and Bhutan: country studies". Federal Research Division, Library of Congress.
  15. (1998). "The Far East and Australasia 1998". Europa Publications.
  16. (2010). "Bhutan: Decentralization and Good Governance". Asian Development Bank.
  17. (2013). "Local Governance in Bhutan: Decentralization at a Crossroads". United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
  18. (2002-07-23). "Dzongkhag Yargay Tshogdu Chathrim 2002". Government of Bhutan.
  19. (2018-06-26). "Population and Housing Census of 2017 (National Report)". National Statistics Bureau.
  20. "Results of the 2005 Population and Housing Census of Bhutan". National Statistics Bureau.
  21. "Constituency List". National Assembly of Bhutan.
  22. Dorji, Tshering. (2018-02-05). "Chukha export tariff revised by 30 Cheltrum a unit". [[Kuensel]].
  23. Tshomo, Dechen. (2018-10-08). "Number of home stays increasing". Kuensel.
  24. Wangchuk, Kelzang. (2018-10-22). "Election results from Pemagatshel". Kuensel.
  25. (2019-06-13). "Samdrupjongkhar police arrests three for alleged murder". Kuensel.
  26. Tshedup, Younten. (2019-02-05). "A tough year for Trashigang and Trashiyangtse". Kuensel.
  27. Dema, Tashi. (2019-02-27). "Windstorm damages structures in three dzongkhags". Kuensel.
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