GUNTUR: Residents of Kuragallu, where a gram sabha was held on Wednesday, in Guntur district unanimously declined for the merger of their panchayat into Amaravati Capital City Corporation.
Mandal Parishad Development Officers (MPDOs) of Thullur and Mangalagiri have been asked to conduct gram sabhas in all the 19 villages proposed for merger by January 12, to elicit the opinion of the locals on the formation of the corporation. On Wednesday, MPDO Ramprasanna Naik and other revenue officials conducted a gram sabha in Kuragallu, Mangalagiri mandal under police protection. He read out the resolution and explained it to the villagers.
However, the locals declined to give their approval and questioned the officials over the development ‘promised’ to them a few years ago. “As per the CRDA (Capital Region Development Authority) Act, all 29 villages in the region should be developed. Now, in the name of corporation the villages are being separated,” they said.
The gram sabhas were supposed to be held last year, but due to the prevailing law and order situation then in the capital region, the hearings could not be held. On December 16 last year, the PR&RD commissioner sent a memo to the district administration to hold the public hearings in the 16 gram panchayats in Thullur and also in the three gram panchayats that were not merged in the Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation and sent the copies along with a detailed report.