Hyderabad: In a significant shift of responsibilities, the Telangana government has stripped the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) of monsoon emergency duties, transferring them to the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) following allegations of irregularities in the civic body’s tendering processes.
The order, issued on Monday, places HYDRAA in charge of critical seasonal operations, including clearing catch-pits, pumping out floodwater, post-monsoon desilting, nala safety checks, clearing silt and stormwater obstructions, managing traffic diversions during floods, and coordinating multi-departmental response efforts. GHMC, however, will continue with pre-monsoon preparations.
Sources said the decision was prompted by mounting concerns over how GHMC awarded contracts for monsoon works. Several complaints had surfaced, prompting the government to intervene and reassign duties to an agency seen as more technically equipped and structurally independent.
HYDRAA’s chief, A.V. Ranganath, said the tendering process for the upcoming monsoon work is already underway and will be wrapped up within a week. “We’re prioritising response-readiness and cross-agency coordination for better flood control this season,” he stated.