Plans afoot to split Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation into three

The proposal has been doing the rounds for some time and an expert committee, which had been constituted by the previous government with former director of municipal administration M. Prasada Rao as head, had recommended total decentralisation of the existing GHMC to make it more viable and responsible in delivering more citizen centric services.

Though the committee had not recommended trifurcation and had merely recommended creation of more zonal and circle offices, the TRS government thinks that instead of creating more zones, it would be better to trifurcate the GHMC on the lines of Mumbai and Delhi.

Sources said that Mr Chandrasekhar Rao has held a meeting on the issue in which he favoured trifurcation so that the three corporations can compete among themselves in citizen services.

An official committee will be sent to Mumbai and Delhi to study the issue and the CM will give his final nod for trifurcation before the GHMC polls.

The HC has ordered that as per the existing constitutional provisions, unless the state government notifies the reservations of divisions and delimitation of divisions, the election notification cannot be issued for the GHMC polls.

“If it is decided, the GHMC Act will have to be amended accordingly and it is likely that the government may take a final decision in September, during the Assembly Budget session,” a minister told DC on Friday.

GHMC was formed in April 2007 with the merger of 12 surrounding municipalities with a three-tier civic administration of one head office, five zonal offices and 18 circle offices. Some of the present circles have 5-10 lakh people under their purview. Even for small complaints, people have to go all the way to the circle office.

In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, there are separate municipal corporations like North Delhi Municipal Corporation, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, East Delhi Municipal Corporation besides New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment Board.

In Mumbai, there are Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation and Thane Municipal Corporation.