71 villages seek integration with Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation for enhanced urban amenities

Bhubaneswar: Altogether 71 villages located near the areas under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits may come under the administrative control of the civic body if the govt approves a proposal.The villagers have shown interest in merging with BMC so that they can avail themselves of facilities like other city residents. Though living near the city, the villagers are under panchayats and cannot avail themselves of many urban amenities.“The block development officers (BDOs), under whose administrative control the villages fall, have collected the resolutions from villagers and have submitted them to the BMC. The civic body will send it to the govt for a decision on the issue,” said BMC deputy commissioner (land), Jogendra Majhi.Out of the 71 villages, 66 villages of 12 panchayats fall under the Bhubaneswar block, 1 panchayat and 1 village come under Balianta block, and 1 panchayat and 4 villages under Jatni block. “The matter has been discussed earlier. Villagers have expressed their interest, and it is good that they will benefit,” said mayor Sulochana Das.BMC officials said some of the villages located near the city still have not consented to be merged into the BMC. They may later express interest. Some villages that may come under the BMC are Sijua, Sijiut, Tamando, Jagannathprasad, Andharua, Daspur, Dhauli, Kantabada, Mendhasala, Keshura, Raghunathpur, Lingipur, among others.BMC officials said the villages proposed to be included may become part of the wards they are adjacent to, or the govt may create more wards to accommodate them. BMC now has 67 wards. In 2013, the number of wards increased from 60 to 67.