GHMC approved study tour for 145 corporators draws flak
HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Standing Committee, chaired by GHMC Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, approved a study tour for 145 GHMC ward corporators, stirring controversy and fierce backlash.
It is pertinent to note that the Standing Committee on Monday approved a massive annual draft budget of Rs 11,460 crore for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. The approval came during meetings held at the GHMC headquarters’ Command Control Room. The committee discussed and approved the budget proposals, including the finances of the merged municipalities. The budget will now be presented for final approval in the upcoming GHMC Council meeting.
However, one proposal approved in the same meeting, a study tour for 145 GHMC ward corporators to visit Ahmedabad and Chandigarh to study urban governance models, has sparked controversy and sharp criticism. The timing of the tour is a major point of contention. The corporators’ current term ends in February 2026, so they would return with little time left in office to implement any learnings.
FGG slams GHMC plan as squandering of taxpayers’ money
The Forum for Good Governance (FGG), a Hyderabad-based civil society organization, has strongly objected to the move. In a letter to the Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration & Urban Development department, FGG President M. Padmanabha Reddy called the tour a “squandering of taxpayers’ money.”
The letter argues, “By the time they return from the study tour, there will hardly be any time left for them to put to use the knowledge they acquire.” It further draws a parallel with government rules for bureaucrats, who are typically not sent on foreign study tours if they have got less than a year of service left.
“The proposed study tour is not going to benefit in any way the people of Telangana in general and the people of Hyderabad in particular,” the FGG stated, urging the government to stop the tour.
The FGG has also sent a copy of its appeal to the GHMC Commissioner, making a similar request to halt the plan.
