Telangana government to replace GHMC Act with Core Urban Act

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to replace the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act with a Core Urban Act.

The proposed legislation would be enforced in the three municipal corporations of Cyberabad, Malkajgiri and Greater Hyderabad, which were recently carved out of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who held a meeting with officials on municipal administration, stressed that all government permissions and development works should be finalised as per the proposed Core Urban Act, an official release said on Friday.

Reddy directed officials that development works in municipal areas should be given top priority in the 99-day programme proposed to be launched by the state government soon.

He emphasised that sanitation and cleanliness should be given priority in the Core Urban area (CURE), which mainly comprises the limits of the three municipal corporations.

Reddy, who gave a series of instructions to officials on improving civic amenities, told them to identify suitable locations and make arrangements for dumping garbage, as many citizens are throwing waste in open places, causing inconvenience to others.

After earmarking garbage dumping points, action should be initiated against those who dump garbage outside the designated areas.

In view of a sharp rise in cases of food adulteration, the Chief Minister asked officials "to install CCTV cameras in the kitchens of all the hotels in the city and connect them to the command control centre" of the government.

To ensure food safety, frequent inspections should be conducted. Steps should also be taken to evaluate food safety measures adopted by the hotels and give ratings to them, he said.

Reddy, who directed officials to pay special attention to the construction of roads in the core urban area, suggested following technical specifications under the employment guarantee scheme and also fixing the responsibility for the construction and maintenance of the roads.

The CM instructed the officials to give high priority to fire safety in the core urban area and suggested acquiring necessary equipment and technology should be acquired to prevent fire mishaps in high-rise buildings.

The CM also instructed that 'water harvesting wells' be installed in the city to preserve rainwater.

To ensure proper maintenance of the roads, the chief minister ordered that all the roads in the jurisdiction of the Roads and Buildings department and other departments in the core urban area be transferred to the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department to stop confusion over the ownership of roads by different agencies.

Road maintenance by a single agency will help in speeding up the works, the CM said.

Reviewing the progress of works of new government buildings in the 'Bharat Future City' being developed on the outskirts of Hyderabad by the state government, the chief minister instructed officials to complete the works before the deadlines by obtaining necessary permissions. Quality should be given the top priority in construction works, the CM urged.