Odisha govt to wait for HC decision on RMC notification

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar/Rourkela, Mar 28:

Stung by the interim stay granted by the High Court on its notification for the formation of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) yesterday, the Odisha government today sought to buy time saying it would wait for the decision of the High Court on the notification before taking a call on the issue.

The High Court, it may be noted, had ordered an interim stay yesterday on the notification that sought to include some peripheral villages in the Steel City in the proposed corporation.

“The High Court has ordered an interim stay on the notification while the Opposition has demanded a discussion on it through an adjournment motion notice in the State Assembly. The state government had not taken up the matter for discussion since it was sub judice. The state government will give its reply to the court in time and I hope that the honourable court will take a decision after a thorough look at it. We should wait for the decision of the court,” said Urban Development minister Pushpendra Singhdeo.

“I have come to know that the High Court has ordered an interim stay on the notification on formation of RMC in response to petitions filed by the people of the scheduled areas. It is a welcome step. I hope that the court will deliver justice to these people,” said Union minister Jual Oram.

Biramitrapur MLA George Tirkey, who is leading the agitation against the inclusion of peripheral villages in RMC, said the tribals would continue their agitation for a permanent solution to this matter before the Raj Bhawan in the Odisha capital. “If necessary, we would take up the matter with the President of India and apprise him of the plight of the tribals here,” he added.

“Since we respect the decision of the honourable High Court, it will not be proper to give any statement on the matter. We will wait for the decision of the court and act accordingly,” said BJD MLA of Raghunathpalli, Subrat Tarai.

In his reaction, BJD leader and former Rourkela MLA Sarada Prasad Nayak said while there was opposition from a section of tribals of Jagada and Jhartarang panchayats, which have been included in RMC jurisdiction, some other tribals of these panchayats had supported the move and expressed their gratitude to the chief minister.

“On any problem of the panchayat, the people have different opinions. If there is any violation of rules, the state government would abide by the decision of the court in this regard,” Nayak said.