Balasore: The authorities of the Balasore municipality have taken an initiative to expand the jurisdiction of the civic body by including more revenue villages, a report said.
According to the report, the civic body has identified 28 revenue villages and sent a proposal to the housing and urban development department (HUD) to approve inclusion of these villages under its operational area.
The 145-year-old municipality had a population of 1, 18, 162 spread in 31 wards, as per the 2011 census. A decade has passed since this census while its population is said to have increased by 15 to 20 percent.
Some areas under Remuna and sadar blocks have been witnessing good civic facilities. In view of this, the civic authorities have focused on expanding its territorial areas and augmenting its revenue.
The civic authorities have proposed the housing and urban development department to bring villages like Sinduri, Kanibag, Karnjia, Tulanksahi, Bilapantia, Banaparia, Chhanapur, Januganj, Bhimpura, Balia, Dahapada, Harida, Alupur, parts of Meghadambaru and Kesharpur under its jurisdiction.
However, the proposal has met with protests from local leadership because some panchayats will lose their areas, leading to a fall in the number of voters.
In the first phase, the civic body aims at expanding its areas and then making efforts to obtain the tag of the municipal corporation in the next phase.
However, the civic body requires 80,000 more population for approval of the municipal corporation status from the government.
Working on the proposal, the civic body has drawn up a blue print to include more villages such as Remuna, Phuladi, Patrapada, Gaba g aon, Khanna g ar, Saraswatipur, Naraharipur, Ganipur and Mandarpur in its jurisdiction, sources said.
Contacted, executive officer of the Balasore municipality Ashish Iswar Patil said people living in some panchayats around the municipality have good civic facilities like in towns. But they are deprived of urban area status.
Elected representatives of two to three panchayats have been proposed to pass resolutions for inclusion of parts of their panchayats in the municipality. The process to expand the municipality areas is underway, he added.
PNN