MANALI: Urban development minister Sudhir Sharma's announcement to upgrade Manali municipal council into a municipal corporation has not gone well with opposition members, who believe it to be against the law and not in favour of residents.

Manali has a population of only 8,090 people and even after merging hundreds of villages surrounding it with the urban area, the population totals up to only 44,212 and thus it is not eligible to become a corporation, claim BJP leaders. According to Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994, any urban area with population exceeding 50,000 and generating annual revenue exceeding Rs 2 crore for local administration is eligible to become a municipal corporation.

Cabinet minister Sudhir Sharma in a recent press conference in Palampur had announced to establish five new municipal corporations in the state, including Manali. "Neither is the decision in favour of Manali, nor had the residents asked for it," said former Kullu MLA Chander Sen Thakur in a press conference. He said if the government plans to merge surrounding villages to constitute a corporation, it would prove fatal for villagers. "If we include all villages of Manali tehsil to form a municipal corporation, the population still would be less than 50,00. It is possible only by amending the law," Thakur added.

Villages act as small judiciaries to solve their own matters and urbanization will finish their existence. He said villagers would be liable to carry extra burden of house taxes as part of a municipal corporation.