Hyderabad – the capital city of Telangana state is one of the fastest growing cosmopolitan metropolitan cities in India. Considering area of the city, it is disproportionately larger than any urban centre in the state.
However, it is difficult for the common man to say who takes care of Hyderabad city. Any way, if we look at the big picture, we can find two bodies that take care of the city right now. One is Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the other is Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). This article is aimed to help you understand the differences, objectives and major functions of these two bodies.
Erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH)
- Formed in 1955, under the Act of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) was a local body that used to take care of the citizens of both Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
- MCH was headed by a Mayor, who had very few executive powers, while the entire and the real executive powers vested in the Municipal Commissioner.
- MCH covered only 173 sq. km and to provide better amenities to the citizens, it was divided into 4 zones, 7 circles and 100 wards.
For more details on evolution of MCH click here.
Areas that were covered under MCH
Circle I – Areas under Moosarambagh, Saidabad, Saroornagar, Barkas, Moghalpura, Chaderghat
Circle II – Areas under Falaknuma, Zoo Park, Puranapul, Begum Bazaar, Shali Banda etc.
Circle III – Areas under Amberpet, Kachiguda, Himayathnagar, Bholakpur, Nallakunta etc.
Circle IV- Areas under Golkonda military area, Hakimpet, Mehdipatnam, Mallepally, Langer House
Circle V – Areas under Jubilee hills, Banjara hills, Yousufguda, Sanathnagar, Khairatabad etc.
Circle VI – Areas under Esamia Bazaar, Agapura, Gun Foundry etc.
Circle VII – Areas under Secunderabad Division
Transformation of MCH into GHMC
MCH, like all other municipal bodies, used to provide civic as well as infrastructure facilities to the inhabitants of the twin cities. Thus, laying roads, maintaining streets, public health, sanitation, etc. were the major functions of MCH.
Later in the year 2007, MCH along with 12 other municipalities were merged to form the GHMC. Though the functions and duties of both the bodies are the same, the jurisdiction of GHMC is much larger than that of MCH. Together with MCH and 12 other municipalities in Ranga Reddy and Medak districts, GHMC covers an area of 626 sq. kms. The expansion of city limits and formation of GHMC was to make sure that the surrounding areas around Hyderabad are also developed and have better facilities similar to the citizens in the core city.
Jurisdiction of GHMC
- GHMC comprises of all the areas that were under the erstwhile MCH plus 12 municipalities and 8 gram panchayats of Ranga Reddy and Medak districts.
- Of the 12 municipalities, 10 are from Ranga Reddy district viz L.B. Nagar, Gaddiannaram, Uppal Kalan, Malkajgiri, Kapra, Alwal, Qutubullapur, Kukatpally, Serilingampalle, Rajendranagar and 2 from Medak district that include Ramachandrapuram and Patancheru.
- All eight panchayats are from Ranga Reddy district viz., Shamshabad, Satamarai, Jallapalli, Mamdipalli, Mankhal, Almasguda, Sardanagar and Ravirala.
- GHMC is divided into five zones (south, east, north, west, and central), 18 circles and 150 wards. Click here for details about GHMC zones, circles and wards
Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA)
In order to develop the metropolitan area of Hyderabad which was known as the “Hyderabad Development Area (HDA)”, a constitutional body ‘Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA)’ was formed under the Andhra Pradesh Urban (Dev.) Act 1975. The main objective of this body was to plan for development of the composite region covered under HDA.
Jurisdiction of HUDA
HUDA’s jurisdiction extended over an area of 1,348 sq.km, which includes entire area covered under MCH, 10 surrounding municipalities of Ranga Reddy, Medak districts and vast area under gram panchayats.
While the municipal bodies manage civic services in the city, HUDA covers much bigger area and mainly focuses on the planning and development of the area under its jurisdiction. Layout developments, Group Housing Schemes, all non-residential permissions etc. were the powers vested with HUDA. It also prepared Master plans, Zonal Development plans which were implemented in the later years.
Projects handled by HUDA:
- Greenery Under Flyovers at Tarnaka and Bashirbagh
- Development of commercial complexes such as Maitrivihar Commercial Complex, additional Floors at Tarnaka Commercial Complex, Swarnajayanthi Commercial Complex at Ameerpet, Corporate Office Complex Adjacent To HACA Bhavan.
Special Development Authorities (SDAs)
The efforts of the state government to extend its provisions to many other areas of the city, despite not having a large urban population resulted in the constitution of Special Urban Development Authorities. These authorities help in carving out selected areas out of the jurisdiction of existing Urban Development Authorities, which need special planning controls and a high level of infrastructural and managerial input. Three different bodies are formed under this proposal act.
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- Buddha Purnima Project Authority (BPPA): In 2000, BPPA was constituted for the development of Hussain Sagar Lake and its environs covering an area of 902 hectors. The plan was to make the area best tourist spot with theme parks, recreational spots, water sports, etc. The recreational pockets covered under the this project are Lumbini park, NTR Memorial, NTR Garden, Necklace Road, Peoples Plaza, Sanjeevaiah Park, etc.
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- Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (HADA): After the proposal to establish the Shamshabad International Airport, the state government in 2001, declared a plan to promote and develop the areas in and around the airport. It constituted a statutory authority named Hyderabad Airport Development Authority (HADA) for this purpose. The jurisdiction of HADA extends to 458 sq. km and covers 70 revenue villages and 19 hamlets all falling in Ranga Reddy District.
- Cyberabad Development Authority (CDA): During the year 2001, the state government declared an SDA, ‘Cyberabad Development Authority (CDA)’, which is meant for the effective development of the areas around the HITEC City and surroundings. CDA covers broadly 52 sq. kms consisting of 17 revenue villages.
Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA)
HMDA is an urban planning body formed in the year 2008 by merging the erstwhile HUDA, BPPA, HADA, and CDA. Of all the bodies formed till now, HMDA is a high power body chaired by the Chief Minister of Telangana state . HMDA covers an area of 7,100 sq. kms under its purview and is the 2nd largest urban development area in India, after Bangalore Metropolitan Region development (8,022 sq kms).
The area covered under HMDA is comparable to the size of smaller states. Thus, it is twice the size of Goa (3,702 sq kms), much larger than the National Capital Territory of Delhi (1,483 sq. kms) and many times bigger than Union Territories like Chandigarh (114 sq. kms) and Puduchery (492 sq. kms).
HMDA Extended Draft Master Plan
In July 2011, HMDA has released the Draft Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Plan to cover an additional area of 5,965 sq. km. The HMDA Draft plan included many new areas from Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda and Mahaboobnagar districts. The total area of HMDA has been extended as mentioned below:
- Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) : 5,018 sq.km
- Outer Ring Road Growth Corridor :330 sq.km
- Parts outside ORR of erstwhile HUDA : 432 sq.km
- Erstwhile Hyderabad Airport Development Authority : 185 sq.km
According to the Master Draft Plan, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region extends to the following regions:
- Toopran on North along the NH-7
- Bhongir on the East along the NH-202
- Chotuppal on South- East along NH-9
- Yacharam on South along the Nagarjunasagar State Highway
- Kandukur along the Srisailam State Highway
- Shadnagar on South- West along the NH-7
- Chevella and Aloor along the Vikarabad State Highway
- Sangareddy (Medak Dist.) on the West along the NH-9
HMDA sought for objections and the suggestions, if any, for the proposed draft plan from the public and the deadline for receiving such suggestions was 31 Mar’12.
HMDA projects
PVNR Expressway, Outer Ring Road, Hussain Sagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project (HCIP), Lake Greening Programme, Buddha Purnima Project, etc. are under HMDA.