EVEN as Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday held a meeting with the Karnataka and Maharashtra chief ministers over the border row, 11 villages of Akkalkot taluka in Solapur district, which had sought merger with Karnataka, have now backtracked. The sarpanchs of these 11 villages have conveyed to the Maharashtra government that they don’t intend to merge with Karnataka and want to stay with Maharashtra.
In the past few days, the Maharashtra government had issued notices to the 11 villages, asking them to explain the reason behind their resolution seeking merger with Karnataka. The resolutions by these 11 villages were passed in the first week of this month.
“In the last few days, we issued showcause notices to 11 gram panchayats in Akkalkot taluka, which had passed a resolution seeking merger with Karnataka. The notices were issued since the gram panchayat had indulged in anti-Maharashtra activities,”
Sachin Khude, block development officer, said.
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Premium“The showcause notices mentioned that the government provides basic amenities and instead of creating awareness about them as per government guidelines, why did the gram panchayats pass such a resolution,” Khude said.
By Wednesday, Khude said they received replies from at least 11 gram panchayats.
“All the 11 gram panchayats want to stay with Maharashtra. They said they had made the demand keeping in view the public sentiments regarding basic amenities. Now that they have been promised that all basic amenities have been taken care of, they want to withdraw their demand,” said Khude.
All the 11 gram panchayats have submitted separate letters to the effect, he added.
Akkalkot MLA Sachin Kalyanshetti said all 11 gram panchayats have withdrawn their resolutions.
“I have been holding meetings with them. Even yesterday, I held a meeting with them and gave them details about the projects and works being implemented in their villages. At the meeting, there was not a single sarpanch who raised any dispute. They all agreed to withdraw the resolution and conveyed it to the government,” Kalyanshetti said.
He said the villagers were basically demanding basic amenities, primarily roads. “Because of Covid, there were restrictions on development works for two years. Besides because of the delayed monsoon, we could not take up road work as this area is full of black cotton soil,” he said.
Mantes Hature, sarpanch of Aglaegaon, one of the 11 gram panchayats, said, “As per my information, 10 gram panchayats had withdrawn their demand to merge with Karnataka. Today, as sarpanch, I also submitted a letter to the BDO, stating that our village wants to withdraw its demand to go to Karnataka.”
Hature said there are two reasons for withdrawing the demand. “One is, the local MLA has promised us he will redress our grievances related to provision of basic amenities. Secondly, it seems all gram panchayats have given a letter to withdraw their demand as the government had warned that gram panchayats would be dissolved and sarpanchs will lose their posts,” he said.
