Nizamabad: The merger of surrounding villages in the Nizamabad municipal corporation limits is in progress. District officials had already sent proposals to the state government to merge 13 villages with the corporation. They said this would enable people of rural areas, to get more civic amenities along with the urban residents. Meanwhile, the state government has also decided to set up the Nizamabad Urban Development Authority (NUDA) for comprehensive development of Nizamabad and its surrounding villages.
After Arsapally, no village has merged with Nizamabad municipality for the last three decades. Nizamabad town upgraded from ‘selection grade’ status to ‘municipal corporation’ in 2006.
The population of Nizamabad is growing fast as people from surrounding villages settled here. For employment and educational needs, they preferred to settle in Nizamabad.
Meanwhile, Nizamabad town has spread to surrounding villages like Pangra Boargam, Madhavanagar, Gupanpally, Mubaraknagar, Manik Bhandar, Kalur, Khanapur and other villages.
To avoid high taxes, a few people opted to construct houses in gram panchayat areas. As a result, gram panchayats in outlying areas failed to cater to the needs of people.
Roads, drinking water, streetlights, drainage and sanitation turned problematic in far-flung villages. With limited funds, gram panchayats failed to provide basic amenities to the people. In view of this, a demand arose for the merger of villages into Nizamabad municipal corporation.
Earlier, municipal officials proposed the merger of villages, but a few political leaders prevented this to fulfill their own political agendas.
At present, the state government has decided to merge around 13 villages into Nizamabad corporation.
Speaking to this correspondent, an official from the municipal town planning wing said on condition of anonymity that Gupanpally, Mubaraknagar, Keshapur, Manik Bhandar, Dasnagar, Boargam(K), Khanapur, Kalur, Sarangapur, Nehrunagar, Nyalkal, Mallaram, Pangra Boargam, Madhavanagar and Dharmaram(B) villages may be merged with the corporation.
Officials prepared plans of villages within three kilometres radius, to be merged with the Nizamabad municipal corporation. The merger will boost urban development in Nizamabad.
Gram panchayats will complete their tenure by August, 2019. Prior to this, officials of municipalities, district panchayat, town and country planning wing, are planning on the merger of villages.
