HYDERABAD: Residential Welfare Associations (RWAs) across Hyderabad have raised concerns over confusion and service delivery issues arising from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) proposed ward delimitation during an online consultation organised by the United Federation of RWAs (UFERWAS).
UFERWAS general secretary B T Srinivasan said the objective of the interaction was to gather residents’ feedback on the delimitation exercise and present a consolidated representation to GHMC and the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department on behalf of over 6,500 member RWAs.
Major Shiva Kiran, vice president of UFERWAS and a GIS professional, explained the changes using maps. He said GHMC currently has 150 wards spread over about 650 sq km, with an average population of 60,000–65,000 per ward. With the inclusion of 27 peripheral urban local bodies within and abutting the Outer Ring Road, the proposed ‘Mega GHMC’ would expand to nearly 2,000 sq km, with most of the geographical increase in the southern and eastern zones.
While Somajiguda corporator Sangeeta Srinivas Yadav said the proposed changes had made her ward more compact and were necessary, Vinayaknagar corporator Cyanam Rajyalakshmi highlighted widespread confusion among residents. She said locating door numbers, roads and landmarks without proper maps was nearly impossible and added that several colonies had been shifted to different wards, leaving residents unsure of their jurisdiction.
