GHMC hands over financial control to new corporations
But Rs 4,876 crore debt burden remains unresolved
Hyderabad: In a significant administrative shift, the three municipal corporations carved out of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will function as fully independent entities from April 1.
While the corporations have already been operating administratively as separate units, their financial systems are now being completely delinked. Until now, GHMC has been handling the financial responsibilities of all three corporations, including the payment of salaries for employees of CMC and MMC.
However, this arrangement will come to an end by the end of this month. From April 1 onwards each corporation will manage its own finances independently. Officials confirmed that the bifurcation of key departments particularly revenue and finance wings is almost complete.
As part of this transition, all major sources of income-such as property tax collections, trade licence fees and building permission charges will be credited directly to the respective corporations starting from midnight of March 31.
To facilitate this, authorities have already implemented necessary software modifications and completed the allocation of separate bank accounts for each corporation. These measures are expected to ensure a smooth financial transition and enable the new entities to operate autonomously without relying on GHMC for routine expenditures. Despite the progress in financial separation, the division of GHMC’s existing debts remains unresolved.
The civic body had previously raised loans amounting to Rs 6,530 crore for various infrastructure and development projects, out of which Rs 4,876 crore is still outstanding. While some officials have indicated that the state government may take responsibility for these liabilities, there has been no official confirmation or clear policy decision so far.
As a result, GHMC continues to bear the burden of servicing these debts. In the absence of clarity, it is required to continue paying regular loan installments.
Notably, an EMI of approximately Rs110 crore is due next month. If the government does not provide a definitive decision on debt sharing within this week, GHMC will have to proceed with the payment as scheduled.
