The Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government’s decision to merge 27 urban local bodies around Hyderabad’s Outer Ring Road (ORR) into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) just ahead of the rural local body polls has sparked a political row, with the BJP and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) strongly opposing it.
For the merger, the government has to amend the GHMC Act and the Telangana Municipalities Act. After floating the proposal last year, the Congress had cited efficient mobilisation of resources, disaster management and investments for the move.
“There is no politics behind the move. The proposal was floated much earlier. As the new GHMC areas will be eligible for the Rs 2 crore per corporator fund, development in these areas will be smoother. The Bills to amend the Acts are likely to be tabled in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly,” said Vignesh, Youth Congress office-bearer and former state Congress spokesperson.
The Opposition, however, sees an ulterior motive since the decision, taken on Tuesday, that comes just ahead of the three-phase local polls on December 11, 14 and 17. The merger is likely to hit the BJP the most, especially after its strong performance in the 2020 GHMC polls in which it finished second with 48 seats of the 150 seats while the BRS won with 56. The BRS then allied with the AIMIM to retain power in the civic body.
Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao told The Indian Express that the move was “purely a political one”. “The Congress wants to now expand the city and then divide it into three corporations, of which one they will gift to the AIMIM. The decision to merge the ULBs (urban local bodies) will have no benefit for the people.”
A former BJP MLA admitted this will force the party to redraw its plans to sustain the impact it had last time around. “The increased number of wards, especially in areas seen to be our strongholds, will definitely be a challenge for us. We will meet and see how our plans need to be tweaked to ensure a strong showing.”
The BJP, which is seeking to expand its footprint in the state, is also dealing with infighting and the exit of local strongman and former MLA T Raja Singh. Some of its leaders, including Kamareddy MLA Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy, have publicly spoken out against the state leadership.
“Singh’s exit will be a crucial factor in the polls. Even though he is unlikely to lend support to candidates of any other party, his influence in the Old City area cannot be discounted. The increased number of wards, some of which fall in the Old City, will definitely be a factor,” said a state BJP leader.
In a statement, the BRS said the government took an “unscientific merger” decision without conducting a study and demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. Terming the move as CM Reddy’s “political greed”, BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan told The Indian Express that the CM was “obsessed with expanding his imperialistic control on Hyderabad”.
“The move lacks any comprehension or vision related to Hyderabad as well as Telangana. We are already a big city, with the GHMC stretched for funds. What we need is the strengthening of existing urban centres. Instead of expanding Hyderabad, they should have developed other cities such as Mahabubnagar, Sangareddy, Karimnagar or Nalgonda on the ‘hub-and-spokes’ model,” he said.
Citing the recent protests in the Kancha Gachibowli case — in which a large tract of forest was being cleared for an IT park, before the Supreme Court put a stay on it — a BRS leader, who did not wish to be named, alleged that the government’s intention was linked to controlling “prime real estate”.
Which areas will come under GHMC
The areas the government plans to bring under the GHMC are Pedda Amberpet, Jalpally, Shamshabad, Turkayamjal, Manikonda, Narsingi, Adibatla, Thukkuguda, Medchal, Dammaiguda, Nagaram, Pocharam, Ghatkesar, Gundlapochampally, Thumkunta, Kompally, Dundigal, Bollaram, Tellapur, Ameenpur, Badangpet, Bandlaguda Jagir, Meerpet, Boduppal, Peerzadiguda, Jawaharnagar, and Nizampet.
This is the first attempt at expanding the urban local body since 2007, when 12 municipalities and eight gram panchayats from the undivided Rangareddy and Medak districts were merged with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) to bring the GHMC into existence.
Following the latest merger, the GHMC’s limits are expected to go up from the current 625 sq km to over 2,000 sq km
Following the latest merger, the GHMC’s limits are expected to go up from the current 625 sq km to over 2,000 sq km. The number of wards in the GHMC will also go up significantly from the current 150 to about 250, sources said.
“If you see the 2023 Assembly results, a major chunk of the BRS’s seats came from the Hyderabad region. By merging the areas and developing them, the Congress wants to get into the good books of voters,” said a Telangana Congress office-bearer.
The BRS won 16 of the 24 seats in the Hyderabad region in the 2023 Assembly polls while the Congress drew a blank. The AIMIM won seven and the BJP one.