THOOTHUKUDI: Kovilpatti municipality has passed a resolution to merge seven village panchayats with the city during a council meeting on Tuesday. It was presided over by Chairperson K Karunanidhi in the presence of Commissioner R Kamala and other councillors.
Inam Maniachi, Moopanpatti, Ilupaiyoorani, Thittankulam, Pandavarmangalam, Manthithopu and Nalattinpudur village panchayats will be merged with the urban fold. This will expand Kovilpatti's area from the existing 6.48 square km to 76.37 square km. Kovilpatti's population will also grow from 95,057 residents according to the 2011 census, to 1,67,620 people.
Kovilpatti has been the centre of industrial growth in the region with a concentration of safety match factories, textile mills, ginning factories, ground nut candy-making units, firecrackers units, and tailoring units.
"Merging these panchayats will benefit the city, with more space to harness state government's funds to implement public welfare schemes and develop infrastructure", said Karunanidhi. Responding to the annexure plans, the villagers said that they felt ecstatic since they said it would also benefit the villages on various levels. Issues such as shortage of conservancy workers, water scarcity, roads, missing street lights, and other woes can be addressed.
Additionally, the annexure plans will benefit the municipality revenue-wise since these panchayats are home to several industries. One of the demerits, according to the public, could be the villagers losing out on work allotments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).