‘Upgrade of Pongalur into town panchayat long overdue’

With the Directorate of Census Operation carrying out rural-urban demarcation, for the purpose of classifying village panchayats with a minimum of 5,000 population as town panchayats, for the 2021 census, the public in Pongalur hope for the transition in anticipation of better basic amenities.

For the purpose of identification of urban units based on the demographic criteria, all rural units having a population of 4,000 or more at the preceding census 2011 are required to be taken up for examination on the premise that it will cross the 5,000 population mark in a span of 10 years, according to a circular issued a few years ago by the Office of the Registrar General, India, related to Census of India 2021.

Also, according to section 3-B of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act,1920, any local area having a population of not less than 5,000 and an annual income of not less than ₹1 lakh shall be constituted as a town panchayat.

Citing the data furnished on census2011.co.in, official sources said Pongalur was a large village in Palladam Taluk of Tiruppur district with 3,348 families residing. The village, as per the census, had a population of 11,688 of which 5,868 were men and 5,820 women.

According to official sources, a town panchayat was better placed to provide basic amenities on a large scale vis-a-vis a village panchayat.

“There have been representations from the locals in Pongalur its upgrade into a town panchayat. Going by the procedure, the proposal has to come from the local body itself. There is nothing the government machinery could do if the village panchayat does not take the initiative,” an official source said.

When contacted, president of Pongalur Panchayat Jothi said there was, as such, no proposal for the upgrade of the local body. “Only the government can decide. We have no say,” Ms. Jothi said.

Tiruppur district currently has 15 town panchayats. There are quite a number of large villages in the district that could be classified into town panchayats. At the State level, about 700 large and urbanised village panchayats were awaiting such an upgrade, the official source said.

Published - November 05, 2024 07:51 pm IST