Telangana Government to Take Over ₹5,000 Crore Debt of GHMC

Hyderabad, May 5: The Telangana government has decided to take over liabilities amounting to ₹5,000 crore from GHMC, providing major relief to the debt-ridden civic body.

Current Debt Burden

GHMC currently carries a debt burden of ₹4,800 crore and pays ₹180 crore per month towards principal and compound interest to various financial institutions. The civic body accumulated these liabilities through municipal bonds, rupee term loans, and borrowings from financial institutions.

Debt Sources

A majority of the liabilities were incurred while executing projects such as:

Flyovers under Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP)
Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme (CRMP) initiatives
Stormwater drain works
Other urban development activities

Official Statement

Jayesh Ranjan, special officer for three municipal corporations, said: "After reviewing the debts, liabilities and assets, it was recommended that the state government assume these long-pending financial obligations. This move is aimed at easing the burden on the newly formed corporations. The state is expected to clear these debts by the end of this year."

Earlier Proposal

Earlier, there was a proposal to divide the debt among GHMC, Cyberabad Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation (MMC) based on geographical location of projects and loan utilisation.

GHMC Revenue

Before trifurcation, the erstwhile GHMC generated annual revenues of approximately ₹4,000-₹5,000 crore through property taxes, town planning fees, trade licence fees, advertisement revenue, estate income and mutation charges. Of this, nearly ₹700 crore per year was allocated towards loan repayments.