HYDERABAD: Pointing to official estimates that Hyderabad requires nearly Rs 37,000 crore for drinking water augmentation and sewage expansion within existing GHMC limits, policy experts have warned that the merger of 27 surrounding municipalities could push total investment needs to Rs 50,000–60,000 crore or more, without any clear funding roadmap.
Expressing concern over the state government’s decision to merge the municipalities into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), creating an urban body spread over about 2,053 sq km, the experts said the move would weaken democratic governance, strain public finances and aggravate environmental and infrastructure challenges.
In a representation submitted to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, they argued that the proposed model — with three zonal corporations operating under a single overarching authority — runs counter to the decentralisation principles of the 74th Constitutional Amendment. They cautioned that the expansion could centralise power and distance citizens from local decision-making.
“Urban governance works best when it is closest to citizens. Expanding GHMC to over 2,000 sq km will dilute accountability and make local governance less accessible,” said policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy.
The experts said absorbing smaller municipalities into a single authority would erode local identities and reduce elected local bodies to administrative units.
Major Shiva Kiran, another policy expert, said the zonal corporation structure appeared designed to manage scale rather than democratic participation. He warned that concentrating control over land use, taxation, infrastructure and service delivery in one institution could weaken oversight and transparency.
They also questioned the financial rationale for the merger, noting that GHMC was already struggling to meet infrastructure demands within its current jurisdiction. Beyond water and sewerage, they highlighted chronic issues such as poor rainwater harvesting, lake pollution, groundwater contamination and continued dependence on distant river sources. Expanding the city without addressing these, they said, would intensify water stress.
The representation drew attention to fragmented urban governance in Hyderabad, where key functions are handled by multiple agencies and parastatals operating largely outside GHMC’s control. “The issue is not the number of municipalities, but the lack of coordination among agencies. Expanding GHMC without restoring its functional authority will only create a larger but hollow institution,” Narasimha Reddy said.
Experts also warned that a mega-city model could increase the city’s vulnerability to heatwaves, flooding and air pollution, as centralised governance tends to prioritise large engineering projects over local, nature-based interventions. They argued that climate adaptation requires neighbourhood-level planning, including protection of lakes, drainage systems and green cover.
Concerns were also raised about housing affordability and mobility, with fears that expansion could push lower-income groups to distant peripheries, increasing commute times, transport costs and social inequity.
GHMC ends cash payments for municipal taxes
Hyderabad: The GHMC has stopped accepting cash payments for property tax, trade licence fees, and vacant land tax with immediate effect across all circles, including the 27 urban local bodies merged into GHMC.
The move brings all circles under a uniform tax collection system. Cash payments were earlier discontinued in the existing 30 GHMC circles. Payments must now be made through cheques, demand drafts, UPI, debit/credit cards, or net banking at bill collectors’ offices and citizen service centres
Concerns over GHMC expansion proposal
Democratic governance at risk
Financial Strain
Water crisis worsening
Environmental concerns
Fragmented governance
Better alternative: Regional planning