The Union government’s practice of organizing schemes and regulations based on rural-urban categories has created high stakes in these labels. As a result, the categorization of settlements can become something of a game. For instance, between 2004 and 2006, 561 “Town Panchayats” in Tamil Nadu were converted to “Special Village Panchayats”, and back again to “Town Panchayats”. They converted the first time apparently to receive more rural funds from the government, and when these expectations were not met, they reverted.
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