HYDERABAD: Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) across Hyderabad have raised concerns over confusion and service delivery issues arising from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) proposed ward delimitation during an online consultation organised by the United Federation of RWAs (UFERWAS).
UFERWAS general secretary B T Srinivasan said the objective of the interaction was to gather residents’ feedback on the delimitation exercise and present a consolidated representation to GHMC and the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department on behalf of over 6,500 member RWAs.
Major Shiva Kiran, vice president of UFERWAS and a GIS professional, explained the changes using maps. He said GHMC currently has 150 wards spread over about 650 sq km, with an average population of 60,000–65,000 per ward. With the inclusion of 27 peripheral urban local bodies within and abutting the Outer Ring Road, the proposed ‘Mega GHMC’ would expand to nearly 2,000 sq km, with most of the geographical increase in the southern and eastern zones.
While Somajiguda corporator Sangeeta Srinivas Yadav said the proposed changes had made her ward more compact and were necessary, Vinayaknagar corporator Cyanam Rajyalakshmi highlighted widespread confusion among residents. She said locating door numbers, roads and landmarks without proper maps was nearly impossible and added that several colonies had been shifted to different wards, leaving residents unsure of their jurisdiction.
RWA representatives echoed similar concerns. Sreelatha from Musheerabad said areas of Musheerabad and Bholakpur had been split unscientifically and sought ground-level verification. Khalid from Tarnaka pointed out that his locality now fell under three police station jurisdictions. RWAs from Temple Alwal sought status quo instead of being split into Venkatapuram, while others opposed being merged into Macha Bollarum. Gangadhar Gupta from Balanagar highlighted anomalies such as houses across the same road falling in different wards, resulting in multiple administrative jurisdictions and confusion.
Both corporators stressed that colonies should not be split across wards. Major Shiva Kiran advocated a more scientific ward numbering system based on established mapping norms, though participants felt that both ward names and numbers were important.
Assuring follow-up action, Srinivasan said UFERWAS would seek an extension of the deadline for objections, publication of detailed maps on the GHMC portal, user-friendly search options for house numbers and colonies, and wider consultations with RWAs and public representatives before finalising ward boundaries. He added that more such interactions would be organised to address residents’ concerns.
key concerns
UFERWAS consultation gathered feedback from over 6,500 RWAs on implications of proposed mega GHMC expansion
GIS presentation highlighted ward expansion from 650 to 2,000 square kilometres mainly south east zones
Residents cited unscientific splits placing colonies under multiple wards and police station jurisdictions