Telangana govt completes delimitation of wards for municipal polls; Congress likely to hold elections after panchayat results
HYDERABAD: While gearing up for gram panchayat elections , the govt is also simultaneously preparing for municipal elections. As a first step, the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department has completed the delimitation of wards of 30 urban local bodies (ULBs), including newly formed municipalities, newly formed corporations, and civic bodies that incorporated more villages.
The delimitation exercise was undertaken as the term of about 140 municipalities ended in the last week of Jan, and delimitation is a must before going to the polls. Of the total ULBs, 27 municipalities are within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits, which might be merged either into Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or the proposed greater corporation in the future.
For instance, some panchayats such as Mulugu, Moinabad, Yellampet, Kohir, Ashwaraopet, Maddur, Devarakadra and Chevella were elevated to the level of municipalities.
With the merger of villages and panchayats and the creation of new municipal corporations, the govt has increased the number of wards. For example, Mahabubnagar corporation was created, and wards were increased from 49 to 60. Similarly, Mancherial corporation was created, and wards increased from 36 to 60, while wards in the Karimnagar corporation were increased from 60 to 66.
"The exercise of delimitation of wards was completed a week ago and sent to the govt for approval. The state govt has to fix reservations and send it to the State Election Commission to conduct elections," a senior MA&UD department official said.
Sources said the Congress govt is likely to go for municipal elections only after seeing the outcome of the gram panchayat elections, as they indicate the mood or people's opinion on the state govt. Gram panchayat elections are held on non-party basis, while municipal elections on party basis.
The govt is also weighing the options to hold both GHMC and municipal polls simultaneously or one after the other. The term of current GHMC council ends in Feb 2026, and the elections could be held one or two months prior to the expiry of the term. Earlier, GHMC elections were held in Dec 2020.
The delimitation exercise was undertaken as the term of about 140 municipalities ended in the last week of Jan, and delimitation is a must before going to the polls. Of the total ULBs, 27 municipalities are within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) limits, which might be merged either into Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) or the proposed greater corporation in the future.
For instance, some panchayats such as Mulugu, Moinabad, Yellampet, Kohir, Ashwaraopet, Maddur, Devarakadra and Chevella were elevated to the level of municipalities.
With the merger of villages and panchayats and the creation of new municipal corporations, the govt has increased the number of wards. For example, Mahabubnagar corporation was created, and wards were increased from 49 to 60. Similarly, Mancherial corporation was created, and wards increased from 36 to 60, while wards in the Karimnagar corporation were increased from 60 to 66.
"The exercise of delimitation of wards was completed a week ago and sent to the govt for approval. The state govt has to fix reservations and send it to the State Election Commission to conduct elections," a senior MA&UD department official said.
Sources said the Congress govt is likely to go for municipal elections only after seeing the outcome of the gram panchayat elections, as they indicate the mood or people's opinion on the state govt. Gram panchayat elections are held on non-party basis, while municipal elections on party basis.
The govt is also weighing the options to hold both GHMC and municipal polls simultaneously or one after the other. The term of current GHMC council ends in Feb 2026, and the elections could be held one or two months prior to the expiry of the term. Earlier, GHMC elections were held in Dec 2020.
Next Story