The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) is on the brink of its most significant geographical expansion in a decade and a half. In a race against time, the civic body is working to merge 11 surrounding villages from the Guntur rural mandal into its jurisdiction. This crucial move is being fast-tracked to meet a hard deadline of December 31, set by the Centre for freezing administrative boundaries ahead of the national census scheduled for next year.
Unanimous Village Support and the Road to Merger
The groundwork for this historic expansion has already been laid at the grassroots level. All 11 villages identified for the merger have passed unanimous resolutions in their respective gram sabhas, expressing full support for joining the Guntur Municipal Corporation. The villages in question are:
- Challavaripalem
- Chinapalakaluru
- Dasupalem
- Gorlavaripalem
- Jonnalagadda
- Lalupuram
- Mallavarapadu
- Obulunayudupalem
- Tokavaripalem
- Turakapalem
- Vengalayapalem
The Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO) formally submitted these resolutions to the district panchayat officer, who subsequently forwarded the complete proposal to the district collector. The issue is now slated to be placed before the GMC council in a special meeting for its approval. Following the council's nod, the file will be sent to the state government through the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) department for the final issuance of a Government Order (GO).
Officials acknowledge that the timeline is exceptionally tight, with only 26 days remaining before the central government's cutoff date of December 31. GMC Commissioner Puli Srinivasulu has directed all concerned officials to expedite the process to ensure the merger is completed before this critical deadline.
Addressing Long-Standing Anomalies and Demands
This expansion is not a sudden administrative decision but a response to persistent demands from residents and public representatives of these fringe villages. For years, these areas have existed in a grey zone. While many urban amenities and services effectively fell within the GMC's operational sphere, the villages officially remained under rural panchayat jurisdiction.
This dichotomy created significant practical problems, hampering coordinated infrastructure projects, efficient property tax collection, and streamlined water supply and sanitation services. Residents have long argued that they face the same civic challenges as their urban neighbours but lack the corresponding governance framework to address them effectively.
This merger seeks to rationalise these limits, bringing uniform urban governance to Guntur's fast-urbanising periphery. Commissioner Srinivasulu emphasised the urgency, noting, "The census boundary freeze makes this the last opportunity for years to rationalise limits. After Dec 31, no changes can be made till the census cycle ends."
A Historic Precedent and a Confident Future
This move mirrors a similar exercise undertaken fifteen years ago when 10 gram panchayats were merged into the Guntur Municipal Corporation. Residents of the current 11 villages have pointed to this precedent, arguing that they face identical bottlenecks and deserve equal civic status and the benefits of integrated urban planning.
With the preparatory work complete at the village and mandal levels, authorities are confident that the merger will be officially notified before the New Year. This paves the way for seamless urban governance and is expected to accelerate development in these outskirts, aligning them with the growth trajectory of Guntur city. The expansion marks a pivotal step in shaping the future map of one of Andhra Pradesh's key urban centres.
