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1. Heard learned advocate Mr. Harshit Karathia for the petitioner, learned Assistant Government Pleader Mr. Ishan Joshi for respondent No.1, learned advocate Ms. Kiran Pandey for respondent Nos. 3 and 4 and learned advocate Mr. Shivang Trivedi for learned advocate Mr. Murali Devnani for respondent No.5 through video conference.

2. By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Upsarpanch of Dharampur Gram Panchayat has challenged notification dated 29.07.2020 issued by the Government in exercise of powers under clause (d) of Article 243P of the Constitution of India whereby, the area of Dharampur Gram Panchayat is notified as the area of Porbandar-Chhaya Municipality. The case of the petitioner is that respondent No.6, who is elected Sarpanch of the Petitioner Gram Panchayat, made a proposal on 17.10.2019 to the Collector, Porbandar, urging for merging the petitioner-Gram Panchayat into the territory of the Porbandar Nagar Palika without convening any meeting as per the provisions of the Gujarat Panchayat Act, 1993 ['the Act, 1993' for short]. It is the case of the petitioner that the Porbandar Nagar Palika passed a circular resolution on 16.12.2019 to include the petitioner-Gram Panchayat into the Porbandar Nagar Palika. The petitioner- Gram Panchayat thereafter written a letter dated 19.12.2019 signed by the members of the petitioner-Gram Panchayat addressed to the District Development Officer stating that the members of the petitioner-Gram Panchayat have not given any consent of merger of the petitioner- Gram Panchayat with Porbandar-Chhaya Municipality by passing any resolution and the members of the petitioner-Gram Panchayat are not agreeable for such merger.

5. It appears that the Talati-cum-Mantri by letter dated 22.07.2020 informed the Upsarpanch of the petitioner- Gram Panchayat to provide a copy of the resolution of the Gram Panchayat for recommendation of merger with the Porbandar Nagar Palika. Accordingly, a circular resolution was passed by petitioner-Gram Panchayat on 29.07.2020 to oppose the merger of the petitioner-Gram Panchayat to Porbandar-Chhaya Nagar Palika and authorized the Upsarpanch to challenge such action of the State Government before this Court and accordingly, this petition is filed. The said resolution was signed by about 210 residents of the Dharampur village out of 7704 citizens as per the 2011 census.

6. It is pertinent to note that the State Government issued notification on 29.07.2020 i.e. the day on which, the circular resolution is passed by the petitioner-Gram Panchayat by notifying the area of Dharampura Gram Panchayat as area of Porbandar-Chhaya Municipality. Pursuant to the notification dated 29.07.2020 issued by the State Government, the District Panchayat, by order dated 31.07.2020, issued a notification for transfer of the administration of the petitioner-Gram Panchayat to that of the Porbandar-Chhaya Nagar Palika.