The number of municipalities in the district will go up to 10 if the decision of the Cabinet to form new municipalities and grama panchayats gets the final nod.
Now the district has two municipalities, Koyilandy and Vadakara; one city Corporation; and 75 grama panchayats. The Cabinet on Thursday decided to upgrade both Feroke and Ramanattukara as independent municipalities. Previously it was proposed to merge the panchayats to form a municipality. “Now we have decided to form two separate municipalities. Both are eligible to be upgraded as municipalities considering their revenue and population,” Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhi Ali told The Hindu .
The decision has rattled the LDF. “This is a political ploy of the Congress and the IUML. Such retrograde steps will only backfire,” P.T. Abdul Latheef, Deputy Mayor, Kozhikode Corporation, said.