Dehradun: When independent MLA Pritam Singh Panwar on Thursday raised the issue of the government proposing to bring rural areas under urban civic bodies, he was supported not only by opposition Congress, but also by a number of BJP MLAs. With the state government failing to give a satisfactory reply in the House, Speaker Prem Chand Agarwal directed panchayati raj and urban development departments to coordinate and address the issue.A number of rural areas in the state that are situated on the outskirts of a large city or a small town were brought under the jurisdiction of urban local bodies . However, the matter was taken to the high court after which the inclusion of some villages was stayed. While 173 gram panchayats do not have any powers, 84 are partially functioning after the merger.Leader of Opposition Indira Hridayesh said that due to the ongoing confusion, funds meant for development activities are not being released for villages whose status is not clear. Citing some examples, she said that while money has been released to individual districts, it’s not being sent to the concerned gram panchayats. “The government needs to make clear the status of these villages, whether the term of elected representatives continue or has ended,” she saidBJP legislator from Sahaspur, Sahdev Pundhir said that due to the confusion, some industrial areas were loaded with garbage and there was no one to clear it. “Who will be responsible for cleaning garbage?” he asked.BJP’s Umesh Sharma Kau too expressed annoyed over the issue. He pointed out that the funds allotted for gram panchayats cannot be used for other works. Meanwhile, panchayati raj minister Arvind Pandey said that the detailed list of villages included in urban areas has been presented in the House. Urban development minister Madan Kaushik said, “Our stand is clear. The tenure of public representatives of these villages has ended.”With no clear answer coming from the government, the Speaker said, “The panchayati raj and urban development departments need to coordinate to ensure that no one faces problem due to this process.”

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