Congress objects to inclusion of new areas in VMC limits

VADODARA: While those staying in the peripheral areas of the city may have been eyeing inclusion in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) for better civic amenities, the opposition Congress in the civic body is seeing red over VMC’s proposed move to include them. When the issue was taken up by the VMC general board, Congress members voted against it.
Several areas on the outskirts of the city limits have seen major realty development in the recent past and thousands of residential properties there are now occupied. While the Vadodara Urban Development Authority (VUDA) provided these areas with roads, they lack in other civic amenities.
The VMC is now eyeing to include some these areas within its limits and has expressed its willingness to do so much to the respite of those staying in these areas. A proposal for the inclusion of outgrowth areas of Undera, Harni, Sama, Tarsali, Bapod and Kalali also included the civic body’s intention of including Vemali, Bhayli, Sevasi and Vadadala villages in its limits.
The outgrowth areas are those left out when villages were merged into VMC limits in the past. These areas have no civic body or panchayats governing them.
Congress objected villages stating that VMC does not have funds and manpower to take care of its existing areas. Leader of opposition Chandrakant Shrivastava shot a letter to the VMC chief stating that civic woes were rampant in the city and even clean drinking water could not be provided.
Shrivastava said that salaries of contractual staffs were also not disbursed on time and given this situation, it would not be able to take care of the areas it was looking to add to its limits.