Cuttack, March 28: The state government's move to upgrade the Rourkela municipality to a corporation has hit a roadblock with Orissa High Court ordering a stay on the relevant notifications.

Birmitrapur MLA George Tirkey, who has been fighting against the merger of six villages that will enable the change of the municipality into a corporation, has welcomed the order.

Tirkey, who is also the convenor of the Sundargarh Adivasi Mulabasi Banchao Sangh, said the court order was a slap on the face of Naveen Patnaik government that was trying to bring tribal areas under the corporation by violating laws.

The state housing and urban department had issued two notifications on November 14, 2014. While one notified the state government's decision to constitute Rourkela Municipal Corporation, the other announced the creation of the civic body by merging six tribal villages with the municipality.

Birua Oram and Ramnath Toppo of Jagada and Jhartarang, along with other villagers, had filed two separate petitions seeking quashing of the notifications.

"Acting on it, the single judge bench of Justice Biswanath Rath before which the two petitions came up on Thursday issued an interim stay order on further proceedings pursuant to the two notifications issued by the housing and urban development department on November 14, 2014," petitioners' counsel Naresh Chandra Jena told The Telegraph today.

"The court has also said the stay order would continue till disposal of the petitions," Jena said.

The six tribal villages in question are Jagada, Jhartarang, Brahmani Tarang, Sana Brahmani Tarang and Gopa Palli and Jhirpani.

According to the petitioners, inclusion of the villages in municipal limits to transform it into a corporation is a violation of Panchayat (Extension of Scheduled Areas) Act.

The entire Sundargarh district with headquarters at Rourkela is a scheduled area which refer to the Fifth and Sixth Schedule of the Constitution that provide separate laws for tribal dominated area, under which rights over natural resources mainly vests with tribal communities.

Besides, acts such as PESA and special schemes meant for tribal communities under the Integrated Tribal Development Agencies is applicable in the area.

The petitioners alleged that if the gram panchayats were brought within corporation limits they would lose scheduled status and the tribals their constitutional rights. It would also affect their cultural identity and traditions.

The petitioners have further alleged that the process of inclusion of the villages also violated the Scheduled Tribes and Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest) Act 2006. The gram sabha's power has been violated in the whole process as no consent has been taken from it, the petitioners said.

The government, on the other hand, while declaring Rourkela as a municipal corporation had claimed that it was intended to fulfil the aspiration of the people and that would cater to their need by ensuring development.

PM's security

Security in Rourkela has been beefed up for the impending visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 1 even as three Union ministers reviewed preparations for the visit here today.

While Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram has been camping in the city, Union steel minister Narendra Singh Tomar and minister of state for oil and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan took stock of the preparations. Tomar described the visit as significant, while Pradhan said that Rourkela would be turned into a manufacturing hub.