Govt sticks to 150 wards in GHMC

Hyderabad: Taking a U-turn, the state government on Monday decided not to increase the number of wards under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) from the present 150.

The Telangana state government on Monday in a GO on the delimitation of wards in GHMC limits stated that the state government had found it difficult to identify and fix natural boundaries and hence the government felt that it should restrict the wards to the present 150 only.

The government said that any attempt at this stage to increase the number of wards would put huge pressure on the existing manpower at circles and sub-circle offices. It said that the co-ordination at head office would be easier for 150 wards instead of 200.

This has invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties. Speaking to The Hans India, BJP Greater Hyderabad president G Venkat Reddy condemned the government’s decision and said that they would approach court for justice.

The State government after wasting one-year time in the name of delimitation of wards has now taken a U-turn to facilitate All-India Majlees-e-Itehadul Muslimeen in the GHMC elections, he said.

The government is misusing its power for political benefits, he added. TDP leader Krishna Yadav said, the TRS party is following the footsteps of the Congress party in delimitation.

The erstwhile Congress government had also unscientifically divided the wards into 150 to benefit the then ally AIMIM. Patthargatti division has about 12, 000 voters where as divisions like Riyasatnagar and Motinagar have 1,50,000 voters.

He alleged that the GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar was acting as a TRS agent. While the former Congress Deputy Mayor Raj Kumar said that they have no objection to the government’s decision,

the party is ready to contest in the upcoming Corporation election. AIMIM MLA Jaffer Hussain Meraj hailed the government’s decision and said the party does not have any problem even if the wards were increased to 200.