Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has called for a special session of the Assembly starting December 29 to launch a detailed debate on the Krishna-Godavari water debate. The government aims to scrutinise project spending since state bifurcation, highlight Telangana’s legal share, and challenge the Andhra Pradesh government’s unauthorised constructions in river basins.
Revanth Reddy chaired a high-level meeting with ministers on Monday evening at the Command Control Centre. He began by congratulating them on the party’s strong performance in the recent panchayat elections. After reviewing those results, the Chief Minister directed attention to key governance issues, including irrigation project status and recent statements by opposition leaders on water schemes.
Sources indicated that the upcoming Assembly session will feature a debate titled “Neellu-Nijalu” (Water and Truth). The state will raise several inter-state concerns, including the Centre’s inaction on pending water-sharing disputes and the AP government’s continued use of Krishna and Godavari waters without clearances. Officials said the discussion will also expose earlier policy lapses and project delays under the previous Telangana administration.
The meeting emphasised the need to build a legal and technical case to stop Andhra Pradesh from continuing with its unauthorised water projects. Ministers agreed that the Telangana government must raise these concerns both in the state legislature and at the national level.
GHMC expansion and new corporations under active consideration
The Chief Minister also held detailed talks on plans to expand the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. The government is exploring a restructuring plan that may involve creating 70 to 80 new divisions. After this, Hyderabad could be split into three urban municipal bodies. Party insiders suggested naming one of the proposed corporations “Cyberabad.”
Sources said officials are weighing a proposal to retain the GHMC in its current form while carving out two new corporations from newly added areas. The state may issue an ordinance to formalise the expansion. Ministers argued that dividing the city would help address urban needs more efficiently by improving basic amenities and speeding up infrastructure works.
Political changes resulting from the expansion also came up for discussion. The Chief Minister reportedly reviewed how new divisions would impact existing Assembly constituencies and voter demographics. The expansion may also influence the power dynamics in local bodies.
Meanwhile, the state is preparing to hold municipal elections by February. Officials stated that a final call will be taken after voter list revisions. Revanth Reddy stressed the need for a thorough voter data review before the notification.
The meeting also discussed the party’s next steps following the panchayat elections. The Chief Minister proposed a large public event around Sankranti, to be held in Hyderabad and attended by all newly elected sarpanches. He suggested dividing sarpanches into three groups based on erstwhile districts and providing training sessions before the event.
Meanwhile, Congress is planning to analyse ward-wise election data to assess party support levels. This includes studying booth-level results to understand voting patterns and areas of strength and weakness. The data will help refine the party’s strategy ahead of the upcoming municipal polls.