GHMC to be restructured into 12 zones, 60 circles

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has formally completed the reorganisation of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), restructuring it into 12 administrative zones and 60 circles, making it the largest municipal corporation in the country by area and administrative units.

This reorganisation, notified through Government Order No. 292, follows the merger of 27 surrounding municipalities and municipal corporations into GHMC, expanding its jurisdiction to about 2,000 square kilometres across Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy districts.

12 zones, 60 circles

Under the new structure, GHMC will now function through 12 zones and 60 circles, with each zone overseeing five circles and each circle managing five wards, aiming for a more decentralised and manageable civic administration.

The 12 new zones include the existing East, West, North, South, Central and Secunderabad zones, along with newly created zones such as Uppal, Kumbhullapur, Malkajgiri, Shamshabad and Golkonda, among others, to better cover the expanded city limits.

This expansion is aimed at improving civic governance in the rapidly growing Hyderabad region, which now covers the entire Hyderabad district and parts of three neighbouring districts, with a population expected to exceed 1.3 crore.

According to the government, with the merger of 20 municipalities and 7 municipal corporations into GHMC, the civic body’s population and area have grown substantially, making the earlier 6‑zone, 30‑circle structure inadequate for efficient service delivery.

The new 12‑zone, 60‑circle model is expected to bring administration closer to citizens, speed up grievance redressal and local decision‑making, and ensure better monitoring of sanitation, roads, property tax and other civic services, officials believe.

The reorganisation also finalises the delimitation of 300 election wards across the expanded GHMC limits, as per the Telangana Municipal Corporations (Delimitation of Wards) Rules, 1996.

GHMC to have 300 elected corporators

With 300 wards, GHMC will now have 300 elected corporators, one from each ward, doubling the strength of the civic body’s elected wing.

Each ward is designed to have roughly 50,000 residents, with a maximum variation of 10 per cent from the average, to ensure more equitable representation in the municipal corporation.

GHMC officials have stated that the new zone and circle boundaries have been drawn by considering natural features, contiguity and existing infrastructure to ensure smooth administration.

The civic body has already issued a preliminary notification for ward delimitation in the Telangana Gazette, inviting public objections and suggestions for a fixed period before finalising the ward map.

Once the final notification is issued, the new 12‑zone, 60‑circle, 300‑ward structure will become the official administrative and electoral framework for GHMC, to be used in the next municipal elections and for day‑to‑day civic governance.