Telangana High Court upholds merger of 51 gram panchayats

The High Court has upheld the merger of 51 gram panchayats into various municipalities, dismissing a challenge to the government’s ordinance. The bench rejected the petition filed by residents of Ghansimiaguda Gram Panchayat in Shamshabad, along with other affected residents.

By Legal Correspondent

Hyderabad: The two judge bench of the Telangana High Court comprising Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao has upheld the merger of 51 gram panchayats into various municipalities, dismissing a challenge to the government’s ordinance. The bench rejected the petition filed by residents of Ghansimiaguda Gram Panchayat in Shamshabad, along with other affected residents.

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The petitioners had contested the validity of Ordinance No. 3, promulgated on September 2, which merged 51 gram panchayats into municipalities, including Medchal, Sangareddy, and Rangareddy. The residents argued that Ghansimiaguda, which has existed as a gram panchayat since 1985, was unlawfully merged into a municipality without due consultation and in violation of the AP Municipalities Inclusion or Exclusion of Areas into/from the Jurisdiction of Municipalities/Nagar Panchayat Rules 2015. They also contended that the ordinance was passed without any pressing need for immediate action by the Governor and that dissolving a gram panchayat, a constitutional body, was impermissible under the law.

During the hearing, the petitioners’ counsel argued that the gram panchayats were not consulted before the ordinance was enacted, and there was no emergency justifying the Governor’s immediate action. They further claimed that such a merger undermined the constitutional role of gram panchayats. In response, Advocate General A. Sudershan Reddy argued that the merger was in line with the Telangana Municipalities Act 2019, which had superseded the earlier AP Municipalities Inclusion or Exclusion of Areas Rules. He asserted that under the new Act, the state had the full authority to amend the boundaries and jurisdiction of gram panchayats, including merging them with municipalities. After considering the arguments, the bench concluded that the petitioners had failed to establish a valid case and dismissed the petitions. The court found no merit in the claim, affirming the government’s power to amend municipal boundaries as per the Telangana Municipalities Act.