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Merger of panchayats with ULBs hits a snag
The proposed merger of nearby panchayats into the municipalities and corporations seems to have hit a roadblock as the enactment of new Panchayat Raj Act is being delayed which only enables the merger.
Hyderabad: The proposed merger of nearby panchayats into the municipalities and corporations seems to have hit a roadblock as the enactment of new Panchayat Raj Act is being delayed which only enables the merger.
The government may not recommend about 200 gram panchayats which have been proposed for merger in the urban local bodies for elections. Special officers may be appointed to these panchayats after the end of terms of the present sarpanches and ward members.
The government has proposed the merger of a few panchayats into municipalities near to them. As many as 90 panchayats have been proposed for merger with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). Around 110 villages have been proposed for merger in the nearby municipalities and the corporations across the State.
The idea behind this move was to regulate the development in the villages which have been witnessing abnormal growth of population. According to the rules, a gram panchayat is formed for a population between 5,000 to 20,000. If the population rises more than this limit, they would be converted into nagar panchayats or into municipalities.
Several villages around Hyderabad, Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar and Nizamabad have grown in terms of population with the extension of cities and with emigration of people. Boundaries between most of these villages and urban local bodies have been erased, virtually merging them with the ULBs.
Growth of population needs regulation of various aspects like roads, construction of buildings, sewerage and drinking water supply in these villages. Hence the government has been merging the nearby villages with the ULBs wherever necessity arises.
However, merger of villages with the ULBs is a cumbersome procedure and cannot be done with just an order or notification. The villages have to pass resolution accepting the merger. The government would be helpless if the villages refuse merger with the ULBs.
In order to overcome this hurdle, the government has proposed changes in the merger procedure which would do away with the resolution of the panchayat and this has been included in the new Panchayat Raj Act. Unless the Act is implemented, the government cannot go ahead with the mergers.
The government wanted to ensure the passage of the Panchayat Act in the Assembly in the last week of January or in February so that highly-populated villages are merged with the ULBs. However, there is no sign of holding a special session of the Assembly this month.
Official sources informed that the Bill would be introduced in the budget session of the Assembly. The Bill may be passed and the Act may come into force from April and till then the government has to wait. Sources said the government may not recommend elections in the villages proposed for merger with the ULBs. After the implementation of the Act, they would be merged with the ULBs and they would be made into wards or divisions.
