CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru on Tuesday assured the State Assembly that the panchayats required to be added to adjoining urban local bodies would not be merged before the tenure of the existing panchayat councils end.
Replying to a question raised during the question hour by AIADMK MLA from Kanyakumari Thalavai Sundaram, Nehru said that the merger would happen only on the basis of the recommendation of the committee headed by the Rural Development Secretary.
Reasoning that some of the panchayats have no other go, but they are required to be merged with the adjoining town panchayats or municipalities or corporations to develop the amenities there, Nehru said that the merger would not be done before the end of the tenure of the panchayat councils.
Adding that such mergers are done only with the consent of the panchayat councils and their Chairmen and the people there, the Municipal Administration Minister said that some of the rural areas adjoining Chennai have over 15,000 people and they have deposits to the tune of Rs 150 crore and they neither have the officials nor the wherewithal to manage it.
"Also, the people in such panchayats seek amenities on par with the urban areas adjoining them, creating a necessity to merge them with the adjoining Municipalities or Corporations," K N Nehru added.