Residents to launch protests over division of Bhadrachalam into three gram panchayats

The bill aims at the formation of Bhadrachalam, Seetharam Nagar and Shanthi Nagar gram panchayats by dividing the gram panchayat which has nearly 75,000 population.

Bhadrachalam: The residents of Bhadrachalam temple town are seriously opposing the division of Bhadrachalam major gram panchayat into three smaller gram panchayats.

It might be noted that in the first week of July, Governor CP Radhakrishnan had approved a bill pertaining to an amendment to the Telangana Panchayat Raj Act, 2018. The bill aims at the formation of Bhadrachalam, Seetharam Nagar and Shanthi Nagar gram panchayats by dividing the gram panchayat which has nearly 75,000 population.In April 2022, the then BRS government took a decision to upgrade Bhadrachalam major gram panchayat into a municipality paving the way for the temple town’s development. While majority of the residents welcomed the decision, some tribal activists approached the court challenging the decision with an argument that the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019 had no application to Bhadrachalam, a Scheduled Area and arguing that the move violated the Constitution.

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As the matter was pending with the government, some other tribal activists pleaded with the court to direct the State government to decide the status of Bhadrachalam, whether it is a gram panchayat or a municipality and to conduct elections. Following this, the government issued a GO 45 in December 2022 dividing the major gram panchayats into three. It might be recalled that Bhadrachalam gram panchayat was constituted in 1962 and later upgraded as major gram panchayat. The last election held to the local body was in 2013 and its term completed in 2018. Election was not held to the local body since then and it remained as a proposed municipality.

With the division of the major gram panchayat, Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Devasthanam and its surrounding areas fall under Bhadrachalam gram panchayat with an extent of 700.4 acres while Seetharam Nagar gram panchayat would cover an area of 349.77 acres and Shanthi Nagar gram panchayat 997 acres.

Speaking to Telangana Today, CPM activist Bandaru Sharath complained that confining Bhadrachalam temple area to just 700.4 acres would gravely affect its development. With the merger of Yetapaka, Kannaigude, Pichukalapadu, Purushothampatnam and Gundala villages around Bhadrachalam into Andhra Pradesh, the town was left with no place even to dump garbage.Now splitting the major gram panchayat would make things even worse in terms of the temple town’s development. A series of protests, involving all political parties and stakeholders, would be launched in a couple of days to retain Bhadrachalam’s major gram panchayat status, he said.