BJP questions legality of creation of three new civic bodies

The State Government’s decision to form three new municipal corporations — Cyberabad, Malkajgiri and GHMC — is completely “illegal and unconstitutional”, since the Census Directorate has clearly stated that no such changes should be made after December 31, 2025, and until May 2027, charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday.

Accusing the Government of “violating guidelines” issued by the Census Directorate, senior leaders including Telangana BJP president N. Ramchander Rao and Union Minister for Coal & Mines G. Kishan Reddy said that the Directorate has explicitly prohibited any change in revenue divisions or ward boundaries.

At a press conference at the State BJP office on Wednesday, the leaders termed the formation of the three civic bodies “unilateral and unscientific, and taken without any public discussion or feedback.” They also attributed political motives to the Congress Government, alleging that the move was designed to make it advantageous to the Majlis Party by effectively “mortgaging” core Hyderabad to it.

Including areas far from the municipal headquarters could hurt poor villagers, who may lose access to welfare schemes such as the employment guarantee programme. Adding several villages into the new corporations was done without comprehensive planning or assessing financial resources — especially given the current state of civic amenities, including roads, sanitation and sewage infrastructure, they said.

When GHMC was formed in 2007, its area was 650 sq. km, and the creation of three new corporations has expanded this to 2,053 sq. km. Yet, they said, there is no infrastructure planning to match this expansion, noting that even the core area experiences flooded roads and overflowing drains.

The BJP leaders observed that although the ORR (Outer Ring Road) was claimed as the boundary, some areas outside the ORR and others inside were included. Key institutions such as the airport, BHEL and ICRISAT were excluded from GHMC limits. However, under alleged ‘pressure’ from the Majlis Party, areas such as Rajendranagar and Maheshwaram were included in the core GHMC area.

Mr. Kishan Reddy accused the Congress of losing political ground and therefore resorting to intimidation and coercion against party workers. He listed Narayankhed, Sultanabad, Chennur, Shadnagar, Mahabubnagar, Khanapur, Sadashivapet, Ellampet, Wyra, Kothagudem, Nizamabad and other regions where such actions were allegedly reported during the polling for municipal local bodies.

Calling the suicide of BJP candidate Mahadevappa in Makthal a “murder,” he alleged that the ruling party had “openly distributed money” at polling booths in the presence of the police. Despite repeated complaints, there was no proper response from the State Election Commission or the police, he charged. Yet, BJP is confident of achieving good results due to what Mr. Reddy claimed was ‘strong public resentment’ against the Congress and a ‘lack of support’ for the BRS.