Division done, but who will carry Rs 5,000cr debt?

HYDERABAD: With the division of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation into three civic bodies — GHMC, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri — a crucial question looms: who will bear the Rs 5,000 crore outstanding debt? The existing GHMC’s liabilities of around Rs 5,000 crore include loan interest accumulated largely from major infrastructure projects such as the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP), storm water drain projects and other urban works.

Sources in the municipal administration indicate the state govt is likely to divide assets and liabilities among the three corporations based on the geography of the projects and loan utilisation. They say that the govt has already initiated the process of asset and liability segregation.Civic officials said liabilities will be apportioned based on the projects and works executed within the respective jurisdictions. “Debts will not be imposed uniformly. If a particular loan was taken for a flyover, road project or infrastructure work in a specific zone, the corresponding corporation will bear that liability. For instance, loans raised under major infrastructure initiatives will be mapped zone-wise and allocated accordingly,” said a top official in the revenue wing, GHMC.Shortage in key deptsBeyond financial restructuring, the trifurcation is also expected to create significant administrative challenges.

There is already a severe shortage of personnel in key departments such as sanitation, veterinary services, horticulture, entomology, food safety and enforcement. These wings are critical for maintaining public health, waste management, mosquito control, stray animal management and green cover in a rapidly expanding metropolis.With the three corporations now requiring separate administrative set-ups, engineering wings, health departments and enforcement teams, the staffing gap may widen further unless large-scale redistribution of personnel is undertaken. Employee unions expressed concern that without strengthening human resources, service delivery could suffer during the transition phase.