Locals oppose partial merger of village into Nurpur civic body

A portion of the rural area of Baldoon village, under the adjoining Khajan Gram Panchayat, has been merged into the Municipal Council (MC), Nurpur, by the Department of Urban Development. The department, through its Principal Secretary, recently issued a notification approving the merger of part of the rural area into Ward Number 3 of the MC.

According to the notification, 53 khasra numbers from the Gahi Patwar Circle have been incorporated into the jurisdiction of the Nurpur MC. Earlier, on March 18 this year, the department had published a gazette notification seeking public objections and suggestions regarding the proposed merger. However, no feedback or objections were received from local residents.

As stated in the notification, residents of the merged area will be exempted from house and property tax for the next three years by MC Nurpur. The merger will not result in any change in the population or the number of voters in Ward Number 3 of the Municipal Council.

However, the residents of Ward Number 3 have questioned the rationale behind merging only a fraction of a rural village into the municipal limits. They have raised concerns about the purpose of this partial inclusion, especially when it does not contribute to the town’s population or voter count.

Pravesh Mehra, Municipal Councilor of Ward Number 3, criticised the move, stating that merging only a portion of Baldoon village into the Nurpur MC was unjustified. He urged the Department of Urban Development to include the entire village within the municipal boundaries instead.