Visakhapatnam: In a major administrative move aimed at improving civic governance and service delivery, the existing eight zones that fall under the purview of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) have been restructured into ten fully operational zones.

The revised administrative system comes into effect from January 1, 2026 following the State government’s nod. After the reorganisation of zones, comprehensive arrangements have been put in place for the establishment of new zonal offices, including deployment of officers and staff to ensure seamless administration and enhance public convenience. All necessary files and official records have been systematically transferred to the respective zonal offices.

Based on the directions of GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg, all the 10 zonal offices have formally commenced operations this New Year. The move is expected to strengthen decentralised governance, enhance administrative efficiency and bring municipal services closer to residents across the city.

Officials stated that the restructured zonal system will enable faster decision-making, improved monitoring and more responsive civic services, a significant step forward in GVMC’s ongoing efforts to modernise urban administration.

Before reorganisation, two or more constituencies formed a part of each zone in Visakhapatnam. As a result, administration has turned out to be a daunting task for the civic body. Even when MLAs and district officials organise constituency-wise programmes, the zonal officials are unable to attend because a couple of them coincide at the same time in two different segments.

This apart, people too have to travel several kilometers to meet zonal officials to voice their grievances, make repeated visits to zonal offices for the follow up. To overcome the inconvenience, the civic body has executed a mapping exercise to ensure that a constituency falls under a single zone.