Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], July 14 (ANI): The state government has finalised the regulations for merging and transferring the settlements under the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasvat Agency (SSPA) with their original villages, a press release by the Gujarat CMO said.

According to the press release, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has approved the procedure for integrating Narmada settlements with the respective Gram Panchayats. Accordingly, a path has been paved for merging around 127 Narmada settlements across 26 talukas in Ahmedabad Rural, Vadodara, Bharuch, Kheda, Panchmahal, Narmada, Chhota Udepur, and Mahisagar districts with nearby relevant villages.

The work plan presented by the Department of Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development before the Chief Minister, it has been ensured that the existing civic amenities in such settlements such as drinking water sources, approach roads connecting the settlement to main roads, internal roads, street lighting, and rainwater drainage system will remain functional and maintained from time to time by the concerned Gram Panchayat.

With the formalisation of this transfer process by the state government, the integration is expected to be completed within approximately the next two months. Moreover, this transfer process will allow all resident families in the settlements to easily avail the benefits of government welfare schemes through the Gram Panchayat, as per norms. With the settlers now becoming active citizens of the Gram Panchayat, their standard of living will significantly improve, and they will be able to access essential facilities with ease.

The Chief Minister has also ensured that ownership of the unallocated plots in these settlements will remain with the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasvat Agency (SSPA). The agency will hand over all records related to the Narmada settlements to the respective Gram Panchayats. Additionally, all matters related to voting rights and the representation of the settlement residents will be ensured by the Gram Panchayat as per the existing government provisions. Facilities like schools, dispensaries, and anganwadis within the settlements will be transferred to the respective departments by the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasvat Agency (SSPA), the press release said.

The Gram Panchayat will also be able to utilise common plots and open spaces within the settlements for the development of public amenities for residents.

The respective Gram Panchayat will assess the properties under the Narmada settlements and collect taxes and levies as stipulated by the Gujarat Panchayats Act, 1993, and its associated rules. Furthermore, once the transfer is completed, the responsibility for addressing any complaints related to civic amenities in the settlement will lie with the concerned Gram Panchayat.

As per the release, the state government has also resolved that these rules will continue to apply in the future when the remaining Narmada settlements under the Sardar Sarovar Punarvasvat Agency (SSPA) are merged with their respective Gram Panchayats.

Under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the formal resolution regarding this procedure has been issued by the Department of Panchayat, Rural Housing and Rural Development. (ANI)