Has Telangana Finalized Reservation in Municipal Bodies?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Reservation of wards finalized for equitable representation.
- 50% reservation for women in GHMC.
- Reservations based on 2011 census for SCs and STs.
- Upcoming municipal elections likely next month.
- Mapping of voters in progress for future elections.
Hyderabad, Jan 14 (NationPress) In a significant move towards facilitating municipal elections in Telangana, the state government has successfully established the reservation of wards and positions of chairpersons/mayors across 121 municipalities and 10 corporations.
The municipal administration department issued a notification on Wednesday detailing the reservations for Scheduled Tribes (STs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), Backward Classes (BCs), and women.
The reservations have been determined for SCs and STs based on the 2011 census, while BCs have been allocated seats following the recommendations of the Dedicated Commission.
Among the 10 mayoral positions, four are designated for women. Additionally, one position each is reserved for SCs and STs, alongside three posts for BCs, which includes one for BC women. One position remains unreserved.
In the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), of the 300 wards, 122 are allocated for BCs (61 for BC women), while 76 seats are reserved for women. There are also 74 wards in the unreserved category. STs have five reserved seats (including two for women), and SCs have 23 reserved seats (with 11 for women).
This ensures that women will have a remarkable 50 percent representation within the expanded GHMC. Recently, 27 urban local bodies were merged with the GHMC, effectively doubling the number of wards to 300.
Reservation of wards has also been confirmed for Kothagudem, Khammam, Warangal, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Ramagundam, Mancherial, Nalgonda, and Mahabubnagar corporations.
Out of the 121 chairperson positions for municipalities, 31 are reserved for women. The government has allocated 38 posts for BCs (including 19 for women), five seats for STs (two for women), and 17 seats for SCs (eight for women), leaving 30 posts unreserved.
On Tuesday, the State Election Commission published the voter list for 118 municipalities and five municipal corporations, with a total of 52.43 lakh voters across these bodies.
However, the voter list for three municipalities and five corporations, including the GHMC, has not yet been released.
The elections for urban local bodies are anticipated to occur next month.
Efforts for mapping voters are underway for municipalities and corporations whose terms concluded in July 2025.