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AP shelves Greater Hyderabad plan

Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad

The Andhra Pradesh government has dropped the proposal for the formation of Greater Hyderabad with the merger of nine adjoining municipalities with the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad.

The state government intimated the state Election Commission in this regard a few days ago, state Election Commissioner K Madhava Rao said at the weekend.

Consequently, the Election Commission will hold elections to the nine municipalities around Hyderabad -- Rajendranagar, L B Nagar, Uppal Kalan, Kapra, Malkajgiri, Alwal, Qutubullahpur, Kukatpally and Seri Lingampally, he added.

The Nara Chandrababu Naidu government wanted to form Greater Hyderabad and even the preliminary notifications were issued in this regard in 1998. However, the government had second thoughts on the issue and ultimately dropped the plan for the formation of Greater Hyderabad.

"Greater Hyderabad is out of the way now... However, the polls to the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad cannot be held right now due to a court case," Madhava Rao said.

The Majlis-e-Ittehaadul Muslimeen had challenged the fresh delimitation of divisions in the MCH in the 1990s on the ground that the civic authorities were taking up demarcation on the basis of the 1981 Census though the 1991 Census data was available. The MIM pleaded that the demarcation be done on the basis of the 1991 Census.

Even as the MCH took up the delimitation work, the state government toyed with the idea of forming Greater Hyderabad. Subsequently, the MCH authorities sought to take up delimitation of divisions for Greater Hyderabad.

The MCH polls were held for the last time in 1986. The term of the elected body was over in 1991. Thereafter, the successive governments (both Congress and TDP) postponed the MCH polls on various grounds.

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