GHMC elections to be delayed further!

The Telangana government has postponed the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Elections on the pretext of the delimitation of wards in GHMC. However the officials seem to be totally clueless regarding where to start this exercise.

The delimitation has to be taken up on the basis of 2011 census population but there is a big problem with the census data. The 2011 data only have the details in terms of electoral divisions and revenue mandals, but the delimitation will need population data as per municipal wards and blocks (as distinct from election wards).

Currently there are 150 wards in GHMC and this number has to be increased based on the new population census. Government needs to take a decision on the fixation of strength but has remained silent as it is very difficult to strike a balance between the core city (with census population of 37.25 lakhs) and peripheral areas (30 lakhs). Also the government is not in any hurry for the GHMC elections as the ruling TRS party is very weak in the region and do not want to go to election any sooner.