Finally a step has been taken to tranform Warangal into Greater Warangal, with inclusion of 42 surrounding villages from five mandals in Warangal district.
The state government on Tuesday issued a Government Order altering the limits of the Warangal Municipal Corporation.
Though there was the demand for upgrading Warangal, one of the most important cities in Telangana region, to Greater Warangal, the GO does not mention any such provision of the upgradation except inclusion of more villages enhancing its area.
One of the oldest municipalities in the state, Warangal, which comprises three cities - Warangal, Hanamkonda and Kazipet - was declared as urban area in 1901 and made a major municipality in 1934. Later, Warangal was upgraded to a special grade municipality in July 1959 and as a selection grade municipality in July 1960 and was declared as Municipal Corporation on August 18, 1994.
Once the capital of Kakatiya Empire, Warangal has been lagging behind in development, when compared to other major cities in the state owing to the paucity of funds. Central funds under the JNNURM could not be sought as the population was less than the required 10 lakh.
As per the 2011 census, the population of Warangal city was 7.59 lakh.
Sources said after lengthy deliberations in the Warangal and surrounding gram panchayats, it was decided by all stakeholders to propose for merger of 47 villages from five mandals - Hasanparthy, Hanamkonda, Dharmasagar, Geesugonda and Sangam. The proposal was submitted to the government about eight months ago.
With the opposition alleging that BC Welfare minister Basavaraju Saraiah was mounting pressure on the government to stall decision fearing political repercussions, the government was reluctant to take any decision hastily. However, following pressure from all quarters, the government finally relented and gave a nod to include 42 villages, but did not upgrade the city to Greater Municipality.
Political fallout of the merger
With inclusion of 42 villages from three more constituencies - Wardhannapet, Parkal, Station Ghanpur - three more MLAs will now have greater hand in the administration of Warangal in addition to the two MLAs - Warangal East and Warangal West.
According to political observers, inclusion of the additional villages in the Warangal Municipal Corporation will only spell trouble for the ruling Congress party, as it would mean greater influence for the TRS. Of the five MLAs now having say in the matters of WMC, only Warangal East MLA Basavaraju Saraiah and Wardhannapet MLA K Sridhar are from the Congress, while Warangal West MLA D Vinay Bhaskar, Parkal MLA M Bhikshapathy and Ghanpur MLA T Rajaiah belong to the TRS.
http://newindianexpress.com/states/andhra_pradesh/article1508809.ece
Comments
Post a Comment