One municipal commissioner for three municipalities in Kothagudem

Both Kothagudem Municipality and Aswaraopet Municipalities were assigned to the Paloncha municipal commissioner K Sujatha, which has been affecting official work 

Kothagudem: The absence of a regular municipal commissioner has been affecting official work of Kothagudem Municipality and Aswaraopet Municipality.

Paloncha municipal commissioner K Sujatha has been given in-charge of Kothagudem and Aswaraopet municipalities, as a result of which she has to look after the official matters of the three municipalities. There are complaints from the public that the municipal commissioner is not able to focus on the affairs of the three municipalities leading to pending of files as well of day to day affairs of the urban local bodies. The main complaint is that the official is not available for the public to address grievances.

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Speaking to Telangana Today, former Kothagudem municipal councillor T Rajashekar complained that a lot of mutation applications are pending to be cleared in Kothagudem municipality, the district headquarters. The applicants are doing rounds of the officials to get their applications cleared. Similarly, the drinking water supply system has been in bad shape and no steps are being taken to address the problem. The households are supposed to be supplied water on every alternate day for at least an hour. But water is being supplied irregularly for just half an hour and sometimes even for less duration, he complained.

It is sad that the State government, unable to appoint a regular municipal commissioner for Kothagudem municipality, proposed to be upgraded into a municipal corporation. Corruption has become rampant as there is no effective monitoring by higher officials, Rajashekar alleged.

The same is with the recently created Aswaraopet municipality. The locals are facing issues related to sanitation and drinking water problems. A regular municipal commissioner should be appointed for the municipality, demanded a resident P Satyanarayana.

It might be noted that the State government had decided to create Kothagudem Municipal Corporation by merging Kothagudem and Paloncha municipalities along with seven gram panchayats from Sujatha Nagar mandal. The Telangana Municipalities (Amendment) Bill-2025 was passed in the Assembly on March 24 for the purpose. But there is opposition to the merger of gram panchayats of Sujatha Nagar mandal into the corporation.