KMC soon to merge fringe villages

Rajesh Kshirsagar, former Shiv Sena MLA who is now with chief minister Eknath Shinde camp, said, “The chief minister and deputy CM Devendra Fadanvis are in favour of the proposal. The government will try to ensure there is no opposition from the fringe villages. The merger will definitely happen this time.”

Satej Patil, the guardian minister at the time of the assembly by-elections for Kolhapur North, had stated that the merger would involve four to five villages. An earlier proposal for the consolidation of 18 villages and two industrial estates was made by the KMC. Ambewadi, Vandanage, Shiye, Shiroli, Nagao, Valivade- Gandhinagar villages, Shiroli MIDC, and Gokul Shirgaon MIDC are likely to be excluded from the final plan by the state government. Additionally, it's likely that the final plan will take into account Pachgaon, Morewadi, Kalamba, Uchgaon, and Sarnobatwadi.

The villages that are most likely to be abandoned are those that are situated on the city's western and northern outskirts as well as on the opposite bank of the Panchganga river. Geographical uniformity, which is necessary for efficient governance and service delivery, is lacking in these areas. Due to the close agrarian nature of these villages, farmers may oppose their inclusion in the KMC boundaries vigorously.

On the other hand, the villages that are found along the city's eastern and southern flanks are uniformly shaped, densely populated, and mostly urbanized. Most of the time, the local governments in these villages have been unable to meet the needs of the residents. These urbanized villages are totally dependent on the city, particularly for transportation and water supply.

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