12 zones, 60 circles: Telangana completes reorganization of GHMC divisions

Hyderabad: Telangana government on Thursday completed the reorganisation of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) divisions.

The move is aimed at improving governance and service delivery across the expanding metropolitan region.

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan issued the final notification, marking the official conclusion of the long-pending division bifurcation and zonal reorganisation exercise.

The government simultaneously issued G.O. Ms. No. 292, detailing the restructured zones, circles, and divisions under GHMC.

New governance architecture for the city

As per the revised framework, GHMC will now function through 12 zones and 60 circles, replacing the earlier system of six zones. The restructuring has been undertaken to ensure administrative convenience, decentralised decision-making, and better civic service delivery.

Earlier, GHMC had six zones: LB Nagar, Charminar, Serilingampally, Khairatabad, Kukatpally, and Secunderabad. Under the new arrangement, six additional zones have been created: Malkajgiri, Uppal, Shamshabad, Rajendranagar, Golconda, and Quthbullapur.

Each zone will comprise a minimum of four and a maximum of seven circles, depending on population and geographical spread.

Special chief secretary post created

In a significant administrative move, the State government has created a new post of Special Chief Secretary, Metropolitan Area and Urban Development (HMDA limits) to oversee the developmental requirements of Hyderabad and the wider metropolitan region.

Senior IAS officer Jayesh Ranjan has been appointed to the newly created post. The role is expected to bring focused leadership and coordinated planning for urban infrastructure, growth management, and metropolitan development within HMDA limits.

Zonal Commissioners appointed

Alongside the completion of the reorganisation, the government has also appointed IAS officers as Commissioners for the newly created zones, ensuring that the new administrative units become operational without delay.

The newly appointed zonal commissioners are: Bhorkhade Hemant Sahadeorao (Serilingampally), Apurv Chauhan (Kukatpally), Sandeep Kumar Jha (Quthbullapur), S Srinivas Reddy (Charminar), G Mukunda Reddy (Golconda), Priyanka Ala (Khairatabad), Anuraag Jayanti (Rajendranagar), N Ravi Kiran (Secunderabad), K Chandrakala (Shamshabad), Hemanta Keshav Patil (LB Nagar), Sanchit Gangwar (Malkajgiri), and Radhika Gupta (Uppal).

Officials said the swift appointment of zonal commissioners would help maintain continuity in governance during the transition.

‘No disruption to Civic Administration’

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan said the newly appointed zonal commissioners would assume charge immediately. He assured that adequate arrangements had been made to ensure that civic administration and public services remain unaffected.

Public objections examined

Before finalising the reorganisation, GHMC invited objections and suggestions from the public for nearly two weeks. After examining the representations received, authorities revised the boundaries and names of several divisions to address concerns raised by residents and stakeholders.

Scale of the Reorganisation

Divisions renamed: 30

Divisions with boundary changes: 104

GHMC’s current administrative spread includes:

Districts (fully/partially): 5

Mandals: 47

Villages: 311

Parliamentary constituencies: 6

Assembly constituencies: 28

"The comprehensive overhaul of GHMC’s administrative structure, coupled with the creation of a dedicated metropolitan-level leadership post, is expected to strengthen urban governance and support Hyderabad’s rapid growth in the coming years," Karnan said.