Fewer numbers: Cong’s Achilles heel to spread GHMC ambit

Hyderabad: Lack of strength for the Congress in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is likely to delay the expansion of the Corporation till the limits of the Outer Ring Road (ORR) as the nearby municipalities and corporations to the State capital should be merged with the GHMC, and for that to happen, a resolution has to be moved and passed.

The government had initially planned to expand the GHMC till the ORR. However, it had later decided to divide the Corporation into more than one for administrative convenience. According to official sources, the government would have to merge the municipalities and municipal corporations in and around Hyderabad city. There are 20 municipalities and seven corporations near the GHMC.

Sources said that these Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will have to be merged with the GHMC. However, there is no majority for the Congress in the Corporation. Though the Mayor G Vijayalakshmi and Deputy Mayor M Srilatha have joined the Congress party, the numbers are with BRS, BJP, and MIM.

Sources said that the government is planning to form a committee to submit a report on various possibilities. The committee may be given a time of one year to submit a report to the government, and in the meantime, the term of the Corporation would also come to an end, allowing for clarity on the merger of the ULBs and division of GHMC. The government would also get an opportunity to delay the election with the committee, said a senior official. The GHMC is set to spread across about 2,000 sq kilometres if it gets expanded. Presently, the civic bodies nearby the GHMC are deprived of basic facilities. There is opposition from the ULBs on the merger, as they said that except for collecting taxes, there will not be much of an advantage for them. Besides the lack of facilities, there is a major problem of encroachments and illegal constructions, as there is a lack of vigilance in these ULBs.