VIJAYAWADA: Elections to local bodies will not be held in the 28 villages in the Amaravati capital area, as the State government has requested the State Election Commission (SEC) not to conduct polls in these village panchayats as they have been proposed to be declared as the Amaravati Capital City Municipal Corporation and the proposal is being processed.
In a letter dated March 6, 2020, Principal Secretary (Panchayat Raj and Rural Development) Gopal Krishna Dwivedi requested the SEC secretary not to conduct elections in certain village panchayats in the State including those in the capital region, as they are either included or in the process of being included into nearby municipalities/nagar panchayats or being declared as new urban local bodies (ULBs).
These 28 village panchayats of the capital region cover 24 revenue villages or 31 habitations in three mandals - Thullur, Tadepalle, and Mangalagiri - of Guntur district. Of them, 19 are from Thullur, two from Tadepalli and six from Mangalagiri mandals.
On March 3, 2020, Commissioner and Director of Municipal Administration (CDMA) wrote to the Commissioner, Panchayat Raj and Rural Development with a request not to conduct elections in certain villages across the State, including the capital region Amaravati.
The letter had details of the merged village/hamlets with the nearby ULBs and also those proposed to be merged with the nearby ULBs. As per the letter, a total of 13 village panchayats in the capital region have been merged with two municipalities - Tadepalli and Mangalagiri.
Of them, only five villages - Penumaka, Undavalli, Nowluru, Bethapudi, and Yerrabalem - feature among the 29 villages that make the core capital Amaravati. Among the eight more villages that were proposed to be merged with Tadepalli and Mangalagiri municipalities, only Niddamarru features among the 29 capital city villages. These details were also included in the letter form Panchayat Raj Department principal secretary to the secretary, SEC. However, interestingly, in the same letter, these six villages were also mentioned as the villages proposed to be declared as part of Amaravati Capital City Municipal Corporation.
28 panchayats sans elections
28 village panchayats from the capital city region where the government requested the State Election Commission not to conduct elections for Local Bodies
Thullur mandal
Abbarajupalle, Anantavaram, Ayinavolu, Borupalem, Dondapadu, Rayapudi, Lingayapalem, Malkapuram, Mandadam, Nekkalu, Nellapadu, Sakhamuru, Thullur, Peddaparimi, Vaddamanu, Harishchandrapuram, Uddandarayunipalem, Velagapudi, Venkatapalem
Tadepalli mandal
Penumaka, Undavalli
Mangalagiri mandal
Kuragallu, Neerukonda, Krishnayapalem, Nowluru, Yerrabalem, Bethapudi, Nidamarru