Gumla district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand state, India, and Gumla town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Etymology For centuries, the place was a meeting center for people from the hinterland who flocked here to exchange goods using the barter system, and the place was called Gaw-Mela. Gumla is believed to derive its name from Gaw-Mela, which consists of two words of Hindi (also used in several local dialects), namely, Gaw (cows and the cattle) and Mela, that is, a fair. The place became known as Gaw-mela, and then the word transformed itself into Gumla. Politics |} Administration District Commissioner: Sushant Gaurav (IAS) Administrative Units Sub Divisions There are 3 subdivisions in gumla district: Gumla Basia Chainpur Blocks/Anchals Gumla district consists of 12 Blocks. The following are the list of the Blocks in Gumla district: Panchayats There are 159 Panchayats in the district. Villages There are 952 Villages in the District. History During regin of the Nagvanshi dynasty Navratangarh was one of the capital of Nagvanshi. During British rule Gumla was under Lohardaga district. In 1843 it was brought under Bishunpur province that was further named Ranchi. In fact Ranchi district came into existence in 1899. In 1902 Gumla became Sub-division under Ranchi district. On 18 May 1983 Gumla District came into existence. Sri Jagannath Mishra then ruling Chief Minister of Bihar inaugurated it and Sri Dwarika Nath Sinha acquired the post of first deputy commissioner of the newly created district. Gumla is considered to be the birthplace of the Hindu God Hanuman. A temple a few kilometers away from the city off the Gumla-Ghaghra road is dedicated to him and his mother. The district contains mountains named Risyamook, which are mentioned in the Ramayana. The district is currently a part of the Red Corridor. Geography Gumla is located at . Geographically, Gumla is located on southern part of the Chota Nagpur plateau which forms the eastern edge of the Deccan plateau system. There are three major rivers, which flow through the Gumla district viz. the South Koel, the North Koel and the Sankh. There are various streams/ tributaries to the main rivers on which there are some picturesque waterfalls, as for example Sadni Falls. The terrain is highly undulating and there are existence of many rivers and streams. The forest cover of the district is 1.35 lakh hectares out of the total 5.21 lakh