The Hindu : Kerala News : Residents' associations hail UDF panel decision

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Nov 26, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Residents' associations hail UDF panel decision

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM, NOV. 25. The recommendation of a UDF high-level committee to revert to panchayat status the four grama panchayats that were merged with the Kollam civic body to enable the formation of the Kollam City Corporation has been hailed by various residents' associations.

Several residents are of the view that the recommendation has by and large justified the general complaint that the maiden corporation council had miserably failed to rise to people's expectations of a city.

The Kollam City Corporation was formed by merging the grama panchayats of Eravipuram, Kilikollur, Sakthikulangara and Vadakevila with the Kollam municipal area.

The first elections to the corporation council were held in the 2000 when the LDF came to power with Sabita Beegum as the first Mayor.

Discrepancy in taxes

However, soon afterwards, the residents of the erstwhile Eravipuram and Sakthikulangara grama panchayats came out with open protests on grounds that they enjoyed better living standards under the panchayat administration. The major complaint was that while taxes were hiked to bring it on a par with city levels, no corresponding facilities were extended.

The Eravipuram Samrakshana Samithy welcomed the UDF committee decision by bursting crackers this morning.

The samithy had even moved the High Court to revert Eravipuram to grama panchayat status. The samithy president, R. Edwin, and the secretary, J. Vijayan, said Eravipuram had been merged with Kollam City Corporation in total violation of the Panchayat Raj Act.

When the High Court was moved, a directive was issued to the corporation authorities that only taxes at panchayat rates should be collected from those residing in the Eravipuram area. Residents of the Sakthikulangara have also hailed the decision of the UDF committee.

Development activities

The Kollam Residents Apex Council (RESCO) too has welcomed the decision to segregate the four former panchayats from the corporation limits. The RESCO secretary, C. Amalolbhavan, said no visible development activity worth mention had been undertaken since the conversion of Kollam into a city. He called upon the State Government to effect the decision at the earliest.

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