D. S. R. VARMA, J. ( 1 ) THIS Writ Petition is filed assailing g. O. Ms. No. 609 dated 15-11-1996 issued by the first respondent and the consequential order of the second respondent dated 22-11-1996. ( 2 ) THE brief facts giving rise to filing the writ Petition are that the villages Palasa, kasibugga, Mogilipadu, Chinabadam, anthrakudda and Thallabadra are Gram panchayats in Palasa Mandal. The petitioners are the residents of the said villages. While so, the second respondent issued show-cause notices dated 6-6-1995 calling upon the above Gram Panchayats to show-cause as to why the notification constituting the said Panchayats shall not be cancelled for purpose of constitution of nagar Panchayat viz. , Palasa-Kasibugga nagara Panchayat under A. P. Municipalities Act. The said show-cause notices were issued to the Special Officers/ executive Officers of the respective panchayats, Since no objections or suggestions have been received, the first respondent issued notification in g. O. Ms. No. 609 (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) Department dated 15-11-1996 merging the above mentioned six Gram Panchayats for the purpose of forming Talasa-Kasibugga nagara Panchayat , pursuant to which, the second respondent while exercising his powers under sub-section (2) (f) of Section 3 of A. P. Panchayat Raj Act (Act 13 of 1994) passed orders in Rc. No. 3830/85 dated 22-11-1996 cancelling the notification constituting the Gram Panchayats of Palasa mandal for purpose of constitution of palasa-Kasibugga Nagar Panchayat with the specified areas of six Gram Panchayats. ( 3 ) IN the counter-affidavit filed by the first respondent while explaining the circumstances under which the impugned g. O. was issued, it is stated that the government had originally proposed to constitute Palasa-Kasibugga Nagara panchayat through a Memo dated 9-5-1995 with the areas of Gram Panchayats cited supra. In this behalf notices were issued to the respective panchayats on 6-6-1995. In spite of notices being served on the executive Officers, no objections or suggestions whatsoever were offered from any of the six panchayats, resulting in issuance of the impugned G. O. and the consequential orders of the second respondent date 22-11-1996 which came into effect from the same dated exercising his powers under Section 3{2) (f) of the A. P. Panchayat Raj Act. ( 4 ) THE main contention of the learned counsel for the petitioners is that under the first proviso to Rule 9 of A. P. Gram panchayats (Declaration of Villages) Rules, 1994, a show-cause notice shall be issued to the Gram Panchayats indicating the proposal of inclusion and the objections of such Panchayats if any shall be considered, if it becomes necessary to take action under sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the Act, and further under proviso to Rule 9, it is imperative for the Executive Authority or special Officer to make a representation within a period of 10 days after taking into consideration the views expressed by the members of the Gram Sabha at a special meeting convened for that purpose. Therefore, according to him since no Gram sabha was convened by the Special Officer or the Executive Authority of the panchayats, it amounts to violation of statutory rules and no final decision by the authority can be taken. ( 5 ) IN this connection it is relevant to refer to sub-section (2) of Section 3 which is as follows:" (2) The Commissioner may, by notification and in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed in this behalf- (a) form a new village by separation of local area from any village or by uniting two or more villages or parts of villages or by uniting any local area to a part of any village; (b) increase the local area of any village; (c) diminish the local area of any village; (d) alter the boundaries of any village; (e) alter the name of any village; (f) cancel a notification issued under sub-section (1);" ( 6 ) THE above provision reveals that the power is conferred upon the Commissioner to issue notification for the purpose specified thereunder. Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 deals with cancellation of notification issued under sub-section (1) of Section 3. It is also necessary to refer to Rules 9 and 12. Clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 deals with cancellation of notification issued under sub-section (1) of Section 3. It is also necessary to refer to Rules 9 and 12. ( 7 ) RULE 9 and the First Proviso of declaration of Villages Rules reads thus:" (9)Where it becomes necessary to take action under sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Act, to exclude from a village any local area or include in a village any local area or unite two or more villages or parts of village or to alter the boundaries of any village or to alter the name of any village in giving effect to these rules, the commissioner shall, before issuing a notification therefore, give the Gram panchayat which will be affected by the issue of such notification an opportunity of showing cause against the proposal to indicate its decision within a period of ten days from the date of receipt of the show-cause notice and consider the objections, if any, if such Gram Panchayat: provided that where a Special Officer has been appointed to exercise the powers and perform the functions of the Gram Panchayats and its Sarpanch and Executive Authority, such Special officer shall be given the aforesaid opportunity and the Special Officer shall make his representation within a period of ten days from the date of receipt of the show-cause notice after taking into consideration the views expressed by the members of the gram Sabha at a special meeting convened for the purpose;" ( 8 ) THE said rule deals with all other contingencies except the one mentioned in clause (f) of sub-rule (2) of Section 3 in the circumstances enumerated therein. ( 9 ) RULE 12 reads thus:"12. (1) It shall be competent for the commissioner to cancel a notification under clause (f) of sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 3, in the following circumstances, namely: (i) Where it is proposed to constitute a municipality or a notified area under Section 389-A of the Andhra pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, or a Municipal Corporation for a village from group of villages or part thereof declared as village under sub-sec. (2) of Sec. 3, in the following circumstances, namely: (i) Where it is proposed to constitute a municipality or a notified area under Section 389-A of the Andhra pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, or a Municipal Corporation for a village from group of villages or part thereof declared as village under sub-sec. (1) of Sec. 3 of the act; (ii) Where a village declared under sub-section (1) of Section 3 or part thereof is proposed to be merged in a neighbouring Municipality or municipal Corporation or a notified Area constituted under section 389-A of the Andhra pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965, and the residuary area is not, in the opinion of the Commissioner, a viable unit for continuing as a gram Panchayat; (iii) Where it is found in the actual working that the Gram Panchayat for the village declared under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the said act ceases to be a revenue village due to submersion or depopulation and the necessity for a Gram panchayat ceases; (iv) Where it is found in the actual working that the Gram Panchayat for the village declared under sub-section (1) of Section 3 cannot function efficiently as a viable unit of local self-Government. (2) The Commissioner shall, before issuing a notification under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the act, give to the Gram Pahchayat, which will be affected by the issue of such notification, an opportunity of showing-cause against the proposal to indicate its decision within a period of ten days from the date of receipt of the show-cause notice and consider the objections if any, of such Gram panchayat: provided. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " ( 10 ) RULE 12 enables the Commissioner to cancel a notification issued under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 in the circumstances enumerated therein. ( 11 ) A perusal of the said rule reveals that it specifically deals with a contingency that may arise in clause (f) of sub-section (2) of section 3. ( 12 ) THE distinguishing feature between these two rules is with regard to conducting gram Sabhas. In other words, Rule 9 emphasizes on convening Gram Sabhas in respect of the contingencies mentioned therein other than Clause (f) of sub-sec. ( 12 ) THE distinguishing feature between these two rules is with regard to conducting gram Sabhas. In other words, Rule 9 emphasizes on convening Gram Sabhas in respect of the contingencies mentioned therein other than Clause (f) of sub-sec. (2) of Section 3, and where as rule 12 which is a self-contained provision exclusively governs the contingency that arises under clause (f) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 i. e. , cancellation of notification declaring the village under Section 3 (1 ). ( 13 ) THEREFORE it is clear that when the commissioner/collector exercises his jurisdiction under Clause (f) of sub-sec. (1) of Section 3 of A. P. Panchayat Raj Act, convening the Gram Sabha is neither essential nor mandatory, and hence, the consequential proceedings issued by the district Collector in Rc. No. 2830/85 dated 22-11-1996 in our view are in accordance with the procedure contemplated under the statute and the Rules thereof. ( 14 ) FURTHER it can be seen that admittedly the original show-cause notices with regard to the cancellation was issued on 6-6-1995 and the same were served on the Special officers/executive Officers and no objections whatsoever were received by the competent authority at any time till the issuance of the impugned G. O. and the consequential proceedings. Therefore, the contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioners in this behalf cannot be countenanced. ( 15 ) HOWEVER, a perusal of the impugned notification issued in G. O. Ms. No. 609 dated 15-11-1996 purported to have been issued exercising the powers conferred by clause (42-a) of Section 2 of A. P. Municipalities Act, 1965 (for brevity the municipalities Act ) impels us to delve into the statutory position and see whether the statutory provisions under the municipalities Act have been complied with or not. ( 16 ) THE Notification under G. O. Ms. No. 609 dated 15-11-1996 reads thus:appendix notification in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (42-a) of Section 2 of the andhra Pradesh Municipal Act, 1965 (Act VI of 1965) the Governor of andhra Pradesh having regard to the factors mentioned in the Andhra pradesh Transitional area, and smaller urban areas (Fixation of Criteria) rules, 1995 hereby specifies the areas comprised in the Gram Panchayats mentioned in the Schedule hereunder to be the Palasa-Kasibugga Nagar panchayat with immediate effect. Si. Si. No. Name of the Gram Panchayat (1) (2) (1) Palasa (2) Kasibugga (3) Mogilipadu (4) Chinabadam (5) Thallabadra (6) Antharakudda ( 17 ) THE provision under Clause (42-a) of section 2 deals with the power of the government to specify transitional area or a smaller urban area by a public notification having regard to the various factors mentioned thereunder. ( 18 ) CLAUSE (42-a) reads as follows:" (42-a) transitional area or a smaller urban area means such area as the governor may, having regard to the population of the area, the density of the population therein, the revenue generated for local administration, the percentage of employment in non- agricultural activities, the economic importance or such other facts as he may deem fit, specify by public notification for the purposes of this act, subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf . " ( 19 ) A careful perusal of Clause (42-a) reveals the following ingredients: (a) the governor must be satisfied that there are certain factors with regard to population, revenue generation, economic factors etc. , warranting constitution of transitional area ; and (b) the said area must be specified by public notification as transitional area . ( 20 ) SO, it is explicit that transitional area or a smaller urban area as the case may be has to be necessarily specified by a public notification under Clause (42-a) of Section 2 of the Municipalities Act in order to attract section 2-A of the said Act. ( 21 ) BUT a close scrutiny of the impugned notification reveals that the State while exercising the powers conferred under clause (42-a) of Section 2 of the municipalities Act having regard to the factors mentioned in the said provision, specified the area comprising six Gram panchayats mentioned in the schedule to be palasa-Kasibugga Nagara Panchayat with immediate effect. There is absolutely no indication in the impugned notification as to the specification of the transitional area . There is absolutely no indication in the impugned notification as to the specification of the transitional area . In other words, the State ought to have first of all specified the six Gram panchayats as transitional area and such transitional area alone would be deemed to have been constituted as Nagar panchayat under Section 2-A, In our view a mere reading of the impugned notification would only show that it only specified the areas comprised in each Gram Panchayat to be palasa-Kasibugga Nagar Panchayat which means that the Government has straightaway specified and constituted palasa-Kasibugga Nagar Panchayat without taking recourse to creating a transitional area as contemplated under clause (42-a) of Section 2. It therefore amounts to bypassing the procedure to be adopted for specifying the transitional area in order to constitute a Nagar panchayat. It is important to note that for constituting a Nagar Panchayat, the Statute does not prescribe any procedure except in section 2-A of the Municipalities Act. What all required by the Statute is compliance of the provision under Clause (42-a) of section 2 by specifying the area as transitional area . In our view specifying transitional area under Clause (42-a) is the first and a necessary pre-requisite for constitution of a Nagar Panchayat under section 2-A. ( 22 ) FROM the language used in the impugned notification i. e. , "having regard to the facts mentioned in the Andhra pradesh Transitional Area, and Smaller urban Area (Fixation of Criteria) Rules. 1955. Governor of Andhra Pradesh hereby specifies the area comprised in the Gram panchayats mentioned in the Schedules hereunder to be the palasa-Kasibugga nagar Panchayat (emphasis supplied), It is indiscernible as to how a Nagar Panchayat can be created by such notification. The impugned notification straightaway creates a Nagar Panchayat, but not a transitional area , which in our view is impermissible, inasmuch as it amounts to topsy turvying the specific procedure. prescribed under clause (42-a) of Section 2 and Section 2-A. Obviously, constitution of a Nagar panchayat should be preceded by specifying the transitional area and such transitional area alone would be deemed to be constitution of a Nagar Panchayat under Section 2-A. ( 23 ) THE learned Government Pleader also could not place before us any material to show that the Government applied its mind to the question of specification of transitional area . Therefore, we are of the view that the impugned notification purports to constitute a nagar Panchayat , but not a transitional area . The averments made in the counter-affidavit stating that "the Government have issued a notification in G. O. Ms. No. 609 (Municipal administration and Urban Development) department, dated 15-11-1996 constituting palasa-Kasibugga Nagar Panchayat by merging the above six Gram Panchayats also lends support to our view. ( 24 ) FOR the above reasons, the impugned g. O. Ms. No. 609 dated 15-11-1996 is liable to be set aside, and is accordingly set aside. The consequential action taken by the district Collector under the A. P. Panchayat raj Act and Rules is also declared to be illegal. The Writ Petition is accordingly allowed. It is however open to the competent authority to take necessary steps afresh for the constitution of Nagar panchayat, if relevant factors continue to exist for notifying transitional area . We further direct that in such a case, the copies of objections if any filed by the Gram panchayats concerned pursuant to the fresh notices that may be issued by the Collector under A. P. Panchayat Raj Act should also be forwarded to the Government (Municipal Administration Department) so that the Government may also look into those objections before taking a decision under Section 2 (42-a) and Section 2-A of the Municipalities Act. No costs.