The proposal of the Hosur Municipality to bring under its jurisdiction 10 village panchayats has failed to strike a chord with the residents of the panchayats and the farmers alike.
Farmers, affiliated to Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, on Wednesday galvanised their opposition to the proposal by staging a demonstration in Hosur and demanded that the administration convene a public hearing before implementation.
Leading the protest, Sangam district president P. Sriram Reddy said the proposed move to include the village panchayats of Nallur, Begaepalli, Kothagondapalli, Poonaipalli, Anjettypalli, Onalvaadi, Thorapalli, Perandapalli, Kelavarapalli, and Chennaichathiram has left the residents less enthused.
According to the farmers, inclusion of Jujuvadi, Mookandapalli, Avalapalli, Sennathur, and Mathigiri under Hosur Municipality by the previous government had not brought about tangible facilities for the people of the erstwhile panchayat areas.
On the contrary, municipal tax was imposed; but no upgraded road or drainage facilities or drinking water supply that would have to match up to a municipality standard was given to these areas. Instead, the areas ended coughing up multi-fold for permits for new house constructions, the protesters alleged.
Similarly, a new water connection under the municipality cost Rs. 30,000. This would further push red-tape that was intrinsic to municipal clearances.
Similarly, there would be delays in land surveys for the farmers, and hike in electricity charges, property tax and water tax among other escalation costs.
According to the Sangam, the change of status from panchayat to municipality would trigger a rush to transfer cultivable lands for the benefit of real estate developers, bringing down the area of cultivable lands. This would pose a threat to food security. Opposing the proposal, the Left-affiliated farmers’ association demanded that a public hearing be held to ascertain people’s opinion and get consent.
