Bhubaneswar, July 30: The council of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) today decided to place a proposal before the state government to include 21 gram panchayats and two revenue villages to enable the civic body attain metropolitan status.

This requires a mandatory 10 lakh population. According to the 2011 Census, the city has a population of about 8.4 lakh.

The proposed 21 gram panchayats to be included are Sishupal, Basuaghai, Barimunda, Raghunathpur, Kalarahanga, Paikarapur, Tamando, Patrapada, Andharua, Chandaka, Pratapsasan, Chhatabara, Janla, Madanpur, Dadha, Pradhansahi, Pubasasan, Dhauli, Satyabhamapur, Kalyanpur and Itipur. The BMC also proposes to bring revenue villages Daruthenga and Mendhasal under its fold.

In November last year, the BMC council had passed a resolution to include 15 gram panchayats and two revenue villages in its fold. As a result, the total population had gone up to 9.77 lakh. But, later the civic body selected six more gram panchayats with a population of 30,234 making the total population 10.08 lakh.

The increase in the size of the municipal area would help the civic body provide basic amenities to areas on the outskirts of the city where the urbanisation process was progressing at a rapid pace, said a BMC official.

In 2009, the municipal council had proposed inclusion of five revenue villages — Subudhipur, Bhagbanpur, Patrapada, Sankarpur and Paikrapur — in its fold and later passed another resolution in 2011 to include three gram panchayats of which the five villages were part. But, the state government is yet to take a decision in the matter. Kalinga Vihar falls in this area but it does not enjoy the basic civic amenities as it still lies within panchayat limits.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: “As the Bhubaneswar Development Authority has already extended its jurisdiction, it was necessary to expand the urban fold to ensure a reciprocate service delivery mechanism in all the growing urban pockets and the proposal to include the 21 gram panchayats and two revenue villages is a step in that direction.’’

Municipal commissioner Vishal Kumar Dev said that with the increase in the area there would be a pressure on the central office of the civic body.

Hence, it had been decided to set up five zonal offices in different parts of the city.