Budgam District derives its name from one of its villages, which is its headquarter. Till the last Census held in 1941 in the pre–independence period, the area was known as SriPratap SinghPoranamed after Dogra ruler MahrajaPratab Singh in whose rule it was constituted as a tehsil for the first time. Prior to 1951, the Tehsil of Budgam including other tehsils of the present District formed a part of the Baramulla district. Consequent upon the administrative reorganization of Districts in the year 1979, Budgam District was carved out first–whileDistrictSrinagar. TheDistrictfalls at a distance of about14 km from the main city of Srinagar (Lal Chowk). The District has a distinction of adopting in the heritage of being the resting place of great spiritual saint Sheikh Noor–ud–din Wali(R.A)at Chari–Shariefbesides the Shrines/tombs of other prominent Saints & Sufisof great historical &religious significance are also located in this District which includes the shrine of Hazrat Ali AaliBulkhi(Pakherpora), the tomb of Mir Shams–ud–Din Iraqi(R.A), Shrine of Gunj Baba Reshi, Shrine of Syed Salleh Khansahib, the tomb of Zia–ud–din Bukhari, the tomb of Syed Taj–u–Din, the tomb of Sham Ded (Poshker)etc. The District has given birth to famous Poets, Writers and Musicians like Shams Fakher, Shah Gafoor, Samed Mir and Abdul Ahad Azad etc. Besides places of spiritual interests, the Districtenjoys the reputation of having tourist resorts likeYousmarg, Nilnag, Doodh Pathri, Tuta Kot, Sangi Safavid, TosMaidan, Nil Veerpal& Khag.
The only civil Airport in the valley, which is now an international Airport connecting the valley, with the rest of the Country & some places abroad is also located in the District.
LOCATION
It is centrally located District of the valley. It is bounded by DistrictBaramullah in the North–West, by DistrictSrinagar inNorth–East, and by DistrictPulwama in the South–East. The Pir Panchal Range separates the District from PoonchDistricton its southwest side. The District is located at the 34000’.54’’ N. Latitude and 740.43’11’’E. Longitude.
AREA & ALTITUDE
The area of the District 1361 sq. km. The District extends to both mountainous and plain areas of varying heights and has an average altitude of 5281 feet (1610 meters)above sea level.
CLIMATE
The Climate of the Districts temperate and is more or less the same as that of the Srinagar District, except that its higher regions get heavier snowfalls & experience severe cold in winter. The Districthowever, experiences adequate rainfall but the Kandi area of the Districtoften receives insufficient rainfall causing sometimes complete crop failures. On the other hand, the low–lying areas flanking on the left side of the Jhelumare marshy and often flooded during heavy rains. The Districthadearlier 3 metrological stations for recording the rainfall, which has turned–functional for last few years past.
The District had 475 inhabited villages and 21 un–inhabited villages as per the 1981 census, however as per the 2001 census, the District consists of 470 inhabited villages and 13 un–inhabited villages and as per census 2011, the District consists of 460inhabited villages and 12un–habited villages.TheDistrictconsists of 6townsexcluding some urban areas outgrowths that fall in the urban augmentation of DistrictSrinagar. It is a constituent of NineTehsils namely Budgam, Beerwah, Chadoora, Khansahib, Khag, Charisharief, B.K.Pora, Narbal and Magam.Besidessub Districtsnamely khan sahib, Beerwah, Chadurawerecreated in the latest delimitation of District/Sub–District/Tehsils, for administrative convenience as well as for balanced economic development. The District has been further divided into 17 C.D blocks namely Chadoora, Budgam, Beerwah, Khansahib, Khag, B.K Pora, Narbal, Nagam, Soibugh, Waterhail, Parnewa, Surasyar, Charisharief, Pakherpora, Sukhnag, Ratsun, and SK.Pora. These Blocks are further divided into 281Panchayats for administrative convenience.
This whole setup can be summarized as under:–
1. No.of Sub–Districts:–03
2. No.of Tehsils: –09
3. No. of Blocks: –17
4. No.of Towns: –06
5. No.of Panchayats:–281
6. No.of Census Villages: –460 inhabited +12 un–inhabited
7. No. of Revenue Villages: -504