Sambalpur, Sept. 9: The demand to upgrade Sambalpur Municipality into a corporation and inclusion of adjoining areas such as Burla and Hirakud within its jurisdiction is gaining momentum.

“Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, at a public meeting in Sambalpur on July 9, said the status issue was under the government’s consideration. The Sambalpur collector had also submitted a proposal to the government in this regard. We expected that the corporation status would be accorded to Sambalpur before civic polls,” said local resident Raghunath Mishra, who presided over a meeting of local residents held here last evening to discuss the issue.

Mishra said the government had the opportunity to make amends as polls for the Sambalpur municipality and the Hirakud notified area council had been deferred due to the agitation of lawyers, who were demanding a permanent high court bench in western Odisha.

“Now, the government has the opportunity to declare Sambalpur a corporation,” he said. On February 28, the Sambalpur Development Authority sent a proposal to the government in this regard.

In July, the development authority chairman and chairpersons of the Sambalpur Municipality and the Burla Notified Area Council had jointly submitted a memorandum to the chief minister demanding the status. The memorandum proposed to include the notified area councils of Burla and Hirakud within the proposed Sambalpur Municipal Corporation.

“The two notified area councils are located adjacent to the municipality. The rural areas, which were proposed to be included in the new corporation, have also developed urban characters. All these areas are well connected,” said development authority chairperson Bijaya Kumar Mohanty.