Demand for separate Secunderabad Municipal Corporation ‘lacks merit and logic’: officials

The recent demand for the creation of a separate Secunderabad Municipal Corporation has triggered a debate in political and civic circles, even went to the extent of some leaders threatening Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy with dire consequences.

The demand, raised by a few political leaders and residents’ groups, argues that the proposed reorganisation of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) could dilute Secunderabad’s 220-year-old historical identity and infrastructure focus.

Officials explained that a closer examination of history, administrative evolution, infrastructure planning and governance mechanisms suggests that Secunderabad is deeply integrated with Hyderabad, and its geography won’t be altered even if any new corproation takes shape.

Officials argue that, historically, Secunderabad ceased to function as an independent civic body more than six decades ago. Though it was constituted as a municipality in 1945 and upgraded to a municipal corporation in 1950, it was merged with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) on August 3, 1960, under the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955.

This merger created a unified civic administration that has continued uninterrupted. With the formation of GHMC in April 2007, Secunderabad became part of the North Zone, and in May 2018, a dedicated Secunderabad Zone was carved out within GHMC when the number of zones was increased from five to six to improve governance.

Since 1960, Secunderabad has had no independent municipal governance structure, and its “twin city” status remains cultural and historical rather than administrative. Government, which is apparently against a new administrative structure, points to the absence of a strong fiscal or economic rationale for a separate corporation.

Secunderabad does not function as a self-sustaining economic unit, and carving it out would result in higher per-capita service delivery costs. It would also lose the advantages of pooled financial and infrastructure resources that come with being part of GHMC, officials opined.

From a governance perspective, Secunderabad is already fully integrated into Hyderabad’s unified systems. Policing, traffic regulation, emergency services and disaster management are handled under the Hyderabad City Police Commissionerate. Creating a separate municipal corporation without redefining these enforcement and response jurisdictions could lead to operational confusion, officials caution.

Officials have informed the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy that addressing service-related grievances, does not require the formation of a new municipal body. Secunderabad is already designated as a separate zone, and improved accountability and enhanced administrative capacity can effectively address residents’ concerns.