The mayor of Karimnagar opposed forming GKMC by merging 5 panchayats

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Karimnagar: The proposal to merge five village panchayats and Kothapalli Municipality into Karimnagar Municipality (KMC) has been strongly opposed. Mayor Y. People’s representatives and villagers including Sunil Rao expressed their concern.

On Wednesday, Mayor Rao wrote an open letter to the Provincial Chief Secretary of Urban Administration and Urban Development and asked the government to withdraw the merger proposal. The initiative led by Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponam Prabhakar aims to upgrade KMC to Greater Karimnagar Municipality (GKMC).

The state government had instructed the officials to submit a proposal to merge 6 villages and one municipality within 10 km radius of Kampa.

After a detailed survey, the municipal officials recommended the merger of Bammakal, Durshed, Gopalpur, Chintakunta, Malkapur, Laxmipur and Kothapalli municipalities. However, villagers from Bammakal, Durshed and Gopalpur protested, alleging that the merger would harm their agriculture-dependent livelihoods. Concerns were raised about possible land acquisition by corporate entities, increased taxes, and loss of jobs for farm laborers and MGNREGA workers.

Mayor Rao also highlighted unfulfilled promises from previous mergers in 2018, where villages like Sitarampur and Rekurthi were integrated but lacked basic infrastructure improvements. He said that problems such as inadequate water supply, poor roads, and inadequate drainage are continuing.

Adding to the opposition, the Kothapally municipality and several village panchayats have passed resolutions opposing the merger. Mayor Rao emphasized that the government should focus on addressing the development gaps in the areas that were merged in the past before moving forward with new proposals.

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