Hyderabad, December 22: Posted on 10:53 PM IST
The Telangana High Court has dismissed petitions challenging the state government’s decision to increase the number of wards in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. The court on Monday stated that ward delimitation and division fall under the government’s policy domain and are not subject to judicial intervention.
Referring to Article 243 of the Constitution, the court noted that its powers remain limited in matters linked to the electoral process, including delimitation. With this ruling, legal hurdles to the government’s plan have been cleared.
The state government has already decided to merge seven surrounding municipal corporations and 20 municipalities into Greater Hyderabad. In view of rapid urban expansion and administrative convenience, orders were issued to increase the number of GHMC wards from 150 to 300.
The government said the move will help bring civic services closer to residents and improve resolution of local issues in line with population growth. Some groups raised objections to the delimitation process, but the government stood by its decision.
The court verdict is expected to smooth the path for GHMC elections. Officials said the doubling of wards will reduce the size of each ward and enable corporators to focus more closely on local concerns. The government believes the inclusion of suburban areas will speed up infrastructure development, though some activists have raised concerns over higher property taxes and reduced panchayat autonomy.
Mohammed Naseer Giyas is a multi-media and bilingual journalist with over 20 years of experience across print, digital, and television media. Founder of Raftaar-e-Deccan, he is an alumnus of IVLP, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and ICFJ, and has worked with leading English and Urdu news organisations.
