M. Vardhan Rao v. The Govt. Of A.P. Rep.By Its Principal Secretary, Municipal

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE A. RAMALINGESWARA RAO WRIT PETITION No.24404 of 2012 ORDER:

The petitioner is a resident of Etukuru Village, which is a Gram Panchayat in Guntur District. The Government initially called for objections under Rule 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act and the Rules framed thereunder for the proposed merger of ten surrounding Gram Panchayats into the limits of Guntur Municipal Corporation and accordingly issued notification in G.O.Ms.No.279, dated 12.07.2012. The petitioner states that Gram Panchayat of Etukuru Village unanimously passed a resolution on 16.11.2009 opposing the said merger, and the said resolution was passed on the ground that the Village is about four kilo meters away from the office of the Municipal Corporation and it would be inconvenient to the public. He further states that the merger would not be viable to the villagers. Therefore, challenging G.O.Ms.No.279 dated 12.07.2012, the petitioner filed the present Writ Petition.

2.

No interim order was granted, while issuing notice before admission on 08.08.2012, and as a result of the same, ten Gram Panchayats, including the Gram Panchayat, where the petitioner has been residing, continued to be within the limits of the 4th respondent - Guntur Municipal Corporation. Though the petitioner stated that a resolution was passed by the Gram Panchayat, the Gram Panchayat is not the petitioner herein. In these circumstances, this Court finds no ground to interfere with the impugned G.O.Ms.No.279 dated 12.07.2012.

3.

The Writ Petition is accordingly dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.

The Miscellaneous Petitions, if any, pending in this Writ Petition shall stand closed.

_______________________________ A. RAMALINGESWARA RAO, J Date:25.10.2016 KH