HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has decided to amend the existing GHMC Act ahead of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) election. For this, it will convene a two-day State Legislature session, on October 12 and 13. “The government is contemplating convening a Legislative Assembly session on the coming Monday and Tuesday (October 12, 13) as there is a need to make some amendments to the GHMC Act. It also wants to make some Acts based on the High Court’s suggestions. A final decision will be taken on Friday,” a release from the Chief Minister’s Office stated on Thursday.
There was talk that the GHMC Act would be amended to allow people, with more than two children, to contest in the forthcoming election. When the TRS government had introduced the two-children norm for the recent Zilla Parishad and other panchayat elections, the Opposition accused it of taking the decision to help AIMIM candidates.
The government is also reportedly proposing strict disciplinary action against erring GHMC officials and non-performing elected representatives, changes in the civic body’s functioning and abolishing the standing committees.
Sources in the Municipal Administration Department informed Express that nothing has been finalised on what needs to be changed in the GHMC Act. Apart from the GHMC Amendment Bill, the government would also introduce some more Bills during the Legislature session.
With the Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) deciding to conduct the GHMC elections with ballot paper, the civic body is bringing back 30,000 ballot boxes which it had sent to Andhra Pradesh for the local body polls there.
GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar has appointed Additional Commissioner Yadagiri Rao as Nodal Officer and is looking into procuring the ballot boxes from the neighbouring State after the polls there were postponed.
So far, about 17,366 ballot boxes have been received from seven districts -- Visakhapatnam, Chittor, Anantapur, Prakasam, Nellore, Cuddapah and East Godavari. The remaining 12,634 would be received shortly, Yadagiri Rao said. The ballot boxes are kept at Victory Play Ground in Chaderghat amid adequate police bandobust.