Don’t integrate four Gram Panchayats with Maddur CMC, H D Kumaraswamy urges CM Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru: Union Minister and Mandya MP H D Kumaraswamy has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urging the latter to reconsider the decision to incorporate Gejjalagere, Goravanahalli, Somanahalli and Chamanahalli Gram Panchayats into the Maddur City Municipal Council (CMC).

Kumaraswamy opined that the decision had been taken without holding extensive consultations with the farmers and residents of the villages. “The locals are opposed to the idea, and have been protesting the decision for the past 70 days. It is wrong to take such a decision that goes against the wishes of the people,” wrote Kumaraswamy.

The Union Minister sought to draw the CM’s attention to the predominance of agriculture in the villages slated for integration with the Maddur CMC. Pointing out that the villages boasted more than 2,000 acres of irrigated land, he added, “The villagers are cultivating a variety of crops. Such being the case, to bring these villages under the purview of the Maddur CMC would go against the people’s interests.”