The State government has accorded in-principle approval for reorganisation of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation into 12 zones and 48 circles, from the existing six zones and 30 circles. Orders have been issued accordingly on Saturday, citing the need for focussed attention to development in the entire GHMC area.
It has been decided to create 12 zones so that there is one zone with a coterminous jurisdiction for every two Assembly constituencies. This will enable elected representatives to work closely with the zonal team and yield better coordinated development results, the orders said. The 48 circles have been arrived at, to divide each zone into four circles.
Standing Committee of the GHMC had earlier unanimously passed a resolution recommending the reorganisation, after which the Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy had written to the State government seeking approval for reorganisation of circles from 30 to 50 and zones from six to 10. He also sought approval of revised norms for staffing pattern accordingly, and sanction of 1,610 posts thereof. Besides, he also asked for sanction of the additional expenditure of ₹ 147 crore per annum on account of the additional posts, to be met from GHMC revenue. However, the latest orders keep mum on the staffing and additional expenditure.
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The government has, through the GO, also ratified the creation of the sixth zone which was accorded approval earlier. Instead of creating fresh posts for the zone, the existing staff has been adjusted in the new zone. The last reorganisation of GHMC had happened in 2013, when the number of circles was increased from 18 to 30 for smooth functioning. As per the norms recommended by an expert committee and approved then, there should be one circle office per 2.65 lakh population in the erstwhile region of Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, and one per 2.25 lakh population in the erstwhile 12 municipalities which were merged into the corporation to form GHMC.
The latest resolution passed by the standing committee too was in keeping with these norms, the orders said.