A single-judge Bench of the High Court comprising Justice C. Manavendranath Roy has directed the State government to file a counter affidavit on G.O. Ms No.19 (dated March 23) issued for the formation of Mangalagiri-Tadepalli Municipal Corporation, when the court gets back to work after the month-long summer vacation beginning on May 14.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioner J. Sambasiva Rao, senior advocate Jandhyala Ravi Shankar said the Chief Secretary of the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued various orders for the inclusion of villages into Mangalagiri and Tadepalli municipalities without following the procedures contemplated under A.P. Municipalities (inclusion or exclusion of areas into/from the jurisdiction of Municipalities/Nagar Panchayats) Rules, 2015 and in violation of A.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1994.
Moreover, a related Ordinance (No.17 of 2020) was challenged before the High Court and it is pending adjudication.
It was further argued that as per Section.3 of A.P. Municipal Corporations Act, 1994, the Governor has to be satisfied with the conditions laid down in Article 243-Q (2) of the Constitution of India before the formation of a Larger Urban Area (LUA). The authority to constitute a LUA is vested with the Governor. In spite of all these, the government issued the impugned G.O. when the matter is subjudice, and in flagrant violation of laws.
