Hyderabad: The Telangana Cabinet is set to consider a significant proposal to merge village panchayats within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in its meeting today. This move aims to streamline urban administration and enhance the city’s infrastructure by expanding GHMC’s limits up to the ORR.
Principal Secretary for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, M. Dana Kishore, has instructed Director of Municipal Administration, V.P. Gautam, to prepare merger proposals for the upcoming Cabinet meeting.
Currently, there are seven corporations apart from GHMC, 20 municipalities, and 33 village panchayats within the ORR. The Secunderabad Cantonment and 61 Industrial Area Local Authorities also fall under this expansion plan.
The state government has already taken preliminary steps towards this expansion by establishing the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) a few weeks ago.
This initiative coincides with the expiration of the terms of the elected bodies in the panchayats. The Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Department has been directed to de-notify these panchayats to facilitate the merger.
However, the full extension of GHMC up to ORR might not be possible until the current term of the corporation ends in December 2026.
Additionally, the terms of the existing urban local bodies (ULBs) within the ORR must also conclude before the merger process can be initiated. Special officers may be appointed to oversee each corporation or municipality once their current councils’ terms end. This will ensure a coordinated transition until the merger is fully implemented.
If merging into nearby municipalities or corporations is not feasible, these panchayats may be combined to form new urban local bodies.