Overview
- Janaagraha publicly released a scorecard and detailed amendment proposals on Tuesday, July 21, assessing the CURE draft that the Telangana government put up for consultation on July 5.
- The group scored the draft 28% on metropolitan governance, placing it about 10 percentage points below Bengaluru’s GBG Act and only marginally better than the seven-decade-old GHMC Act.
- The analysis says the Bill vests decision-making mainly in the municipal commissioner, which is risky given Hyderabad had multiple commissioners between 2023 and 2025 and elected councillors and the mayor are left with limited powers.
- Janaagraha identified concrete gaps including no independent ombudsman, no mandated long-term financial planning, weak capacity-building for municipal staff, and more than 15 new authorities with undefined roles, funds and staffing.
- The NGO recommended specific fixes such as clearer statutory roles for MPC, HMDA and the Apex Council, stronger powers for mayors and ward committees, binding reform timelines, and independent oversight as the next step while the draft remains under public consultation.