Suryapet district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Telangana. It was carved out as a separate district on 11 October 2016, when the Government of Telangana reorganised the state into 31 districts (subsequently expanded to 33). The district headquarters is located at the town of Suryapet, which lies on National Highway 65 (the Hyderabad–Vijayawada corridor) and is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway of Telangana".
| State | Telangana |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Suryapet |
| Formed | 11 October 2016 |
| Parent district | Nalgonda district |
| Region | Southern Telangana |
| Major highway | National Highway 65 (Hyderabad–Vijayawada) |
| Languages | Telugu, Urdu |
Until 2016, the area constituting Suryapet district formed the eastern portion of the undivided Nalgonda district. As part of a state-wide reorganisation aimed at improving administrative reach and decentralising governance, the Government of Telangana, led by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, redrew district boundaries and notified Suryapet as a new district along with several others.
Suryapet district lies on the Deccan Plateau in southern Telangana. It is bordered by Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district to the north-west, Jangaon district and Mahabubabad district to the north, Khammam district to the east, the state of Andhra Pradesh to the south-east, and Nalgonda district to the west. The Musi river and parts of the Krishna river basin influence the district's drainage and irrigation. Major irrigation sources include the Nagarjuna Sagar left canal network.
The district is administered by a District Collector and Magistrate. For revenue and developmental administration, Suryapet is divided into revenue divisions and further into mandals, each headed by a Mandal Revenue Officer (Tahsildar) and a Mandal Parishad Development Officer. The principal revenue divisions are headquartered at Suryapet and Kodad.
The district economy is predominantly agrarian. Paddy, cotton, chillies and pulses are among the major crops, supported by canal irrigation from the Nagarjuna Sagar project and groundwater. Suryapet town is a notable trading centre for agricultural produce, and the highway corridor has supported the growth of transport, hospitality and small-scale industry.
The district contains several Legislative Assembly constituencies of Telangana, including Suryapet, Kodad, Huzurnagar and Thungathurthi. These constituencies fall under the Nalgonda and Bhongir parliamentary constituencies for elections to the Lok Sabha.
The district has a number of historical and religious sites. Phanigiri, an ancient Buddhist site near Tirumalagiri, has yielded significant stupa remains, sculptures and inscriptions associated with the Ikshvaku and Satavahana periods. Other points of interest include temples and reservoirs along the Krishna and Musi basins.
The creation of Suryapet district was part of a broader effort by the Telangana government to bring administration closer to citizens after the formation of the state in 2014. Its location along NH 65 makes it a strategic transit and trade point between Hyderabad and the coastal Andhra region.