New Municipalities Bill introduced in Assembly

The ‘Municipalities Bill’, seeking to revamp functioning of urban local bodies in the State, was on Tuesday introduced in the Legislative Assembly by IT, Industries, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao.

The government has been keen on introducing the Bill as it seeks to improve compliance with laws by citizens, increase accountability among officials, eliminate corrupt practices with an overall aim of delivering effective services to people living in towns and cities of the State.

The legislation itself has a long title ‘A Bill to consolidate and provide for the constitution of municipalities (municipal councils and municipal corporations) other than the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation in the State of Telangana in terms of Part – IX A of the Constitution of India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto’. 

However, the Act itself is called the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019.

In its statement of objects and reasons, the Bill



says some of the provisions under the existing Acts relating to urban local bodies have become redundant and non-relevant due to the changed times requiring their replacement to meet the needs of the time. The Bill also says: “Further, there is no proper use of technology to its optimum level for the convenience of the citizens. There are emerging scenarios which require new orientation in legal framework which the existing enactments do not contemplate and provide for.”

It is because of these reasons as well as to make administration of urban local bodies more transparent, time bound and accountable which is convenient to the citizen and also to encourage greenery in the municipal bodies and formation of budgets in the bodies in a scientific manner, the government considered it essential to bring out the new Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019. The new Act, the Government said, would repeal the earlier Acts – the Telangana Municipalities Act, 1965 and the Telangana Municipal Corporations Act, 1994.