GHMC elected body’s term ends ends on Feb 10, civic body to be under special officer’s rule

Hyderabad: After completing its five-year term, the elected body of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will come to an end on Tuesday, paving the way for a special officer to administer the civic body.Telangana govt is set to appoint a special officer of secretary rank to oversee the functioning of GHMC. The special officer would be responsible for supervising the corporation, including governance of 300 wards across the expanded jurisdiction. The move is in line with statutory provisions that mandate administrative oversight once the tenure of the elected body expires, until fresh municipal elections are conducted.Clarifying the administrative arrangement, GHMC commissioner RV Karnan on Monday said he would continue to manage the day-to-day functioning of the civic body. "I will remain the commissioner and look after daily operations, while the special officer will oversee the corporation. Under special officer rule, the civic body will continue to fulfil all its responsibilities without delay and carry out activities efficiently," he told TOI.The govt would focus on distribution of assets and liabilities to ensure a smooth transition before the municipal elections. Currently, GHMC's debt is over 4,500 crore, which was taken for the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP), Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP), and others. At present, GHMC is paying around 100 crore per month towards loan repayments.However, corporators expressed dissatisfaction over the transition, stating that development works worth several crores of rupees remain pending even as the term of the elected body concludes. "One of the biggest issues for us in the last five years was a lack of coordination between GHMC and HMWS&SB, where many of the sewerage works were left incomplete and were delayed regularly," Malkajgiri corporator V Sravan said.13 items placed before standing committee:At the 12th ordinary meeting of the standing committee on Monday, a preamble was submitted by the GHMC commissioner for a multipurpose function hall at a cost of 3 crore, and another 3 crore for the construction of a multi-storeyed building in Beerappaguda. Several proposals were made under road development plans in areas such as Mansoorabad, Saroornagar, and LB Nagar.