Hyderabad: 26 December Posted on 6:00 PM IST
Mohammed Naseer Giyas
Hyderabad has officially entered a new phase of urban governance and expansion after the merger of 27 urban local bodies into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. With this move, Hyderabad has emerged as a mega city, both in terms of geographical spread and administrative scale.
The announcement was made on Friday by GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan during the inauguration of the newly established Rajendranagar and Golkonda Zonal Commissioner offices. Officials said the merger marks one of the most significant transformations in the city’s civic administration in recent decades.
Following the merger, GHMC’s jurisdiction has expanded sharply from 650 square kilometres to 2,053 square kilometres. The expansion includes 20 municipalities and seven municipal corporations, bringing a total of 27 urban local bodies under a single civic authority. With this scale, GHMC is now among the largest municipal corporations in the country in terms of area and population coverage.
As part of the restructuring, the State government has undertaken extensive administrative reforms to manage the expanded city. The number of GHMC wards has been doubled from 150 to 300 after a formal delimitation process notified through the Gazette. Officials said this step is aimed at improving public representation, especially in newly merged peripheral areas, and ensuring closer monitoring of civic issues.
The internal administrative structure of GHMC has also been expanded. The civic body has been reorganised from six zones and 30 circles to 12 zones and 60 circles. New zones have been created in Uppal, Quthbullapur, Malkajgiri, Shamshabad, Golkonda, and Rajendranagar. Authorities believe this decentralised framework will lead to faster decision-making and improved service delivery at the grassroots level.
12 Zonal Commissioners Assumed Charge
During the programme, Anurag Jayanti assumed charge as Zonal Commissioner of Rajendranagar, while G. Mukunda Reddy took charge as Zonal Commissioner of Golkonda. In total, 12 zonal commissioners formally assumed charge on December 26, bringing the restructured zonal administration into immediate effect.
Merger Accelerates Development
GHMC officials said the expanded structure will help accelerate development works and ensure uniform civic services across both the core city and the newly merged outskirts. Areas brought under GHMC will now gain access to the corporation’s financial resources, technical expertise, and standard civic services such as sanitation, solid waste management, public health, mosquito control, stormwater drainage, and emergency response.
Urban planners view the merger as a crucial step toward integrated metropolitan planning in sectors including land use, transport, housing, flood management, and environmental protection. Officials also expect a wider tax base and streamlined governance to strengthen GHMC’s institutional and financial capacity.
Civic authorities described the restructuring as a milestone in Hyderabad’s evolution, laying the foundation for balanced urban growth, stronger governance, and an improved quality of life for residents across the expanded metropolitan region.
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.
