Ongole, Khammam and Chittoor, the three district headquarters towns, will be upgraded into municipal corporations
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy cleared proposals to this effect made by the Municipal Administration Department over a year and a half ago.
A formal notification would be issued shortly calling for objections, if any, against this upgradation. After this, the new status will be accorded to these places through a gazette notification. With this, the number of corporations in the State will reach 19.
The decision for the upgradation has been taken as these places fulfilled the stipulated conditions, including having a population of 2 lakh (each). At present, Chittoor and Khammam are full-fledged municipalities and Ongole is selection grade municipality.
As part of the upgradation, the surrounding panchayats and villages would be merged into the Ongole Municipal Corporation.
The Chief Minister also approved the proposal to merge peripheral gram panchayats and peri urban areas into Karimnagar Municipal Corporation.
Similarly, he cleared another proposal for inclusion of surrounding gram panchayats and peri urban areas into Siddipet municipality in Medak district.
