Expert urges Telangana Governor to return CURE Bill to Assembly

Public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy has urged Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to return the CURE Bill to the Assembly, raising concerns over its governing councils, ward committees, jurisdictional provisions, property tax and local self-governance.

Hyderabad: After opposition parties raised concerns over certain provisions in the Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, experts have appealed to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to return the Bill to the Assembly, citing issues with a few clauses.

As flagged by some legislators in the Assembly, experts have found fault with the constitution of the Apex CURE Governing Council, which does not comprise elected representatives of the corporations.

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Similarly, a CURE Executive Committee, chaired by the Principal Secretary, would implement the decisions taken by the Apex Governing Council. This was unacceptable as it was ultra vires the spirit of the Constitution, Public Policy Expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy said in a representation to the Governor.

He also said the Bill would practically destroy local self-governance, as ward committees would no longer have supervisory and monitoring functions in the implementation of schemes.

Section 230 (2) allows the State government, through a general or special order, to authorise any body or authority to exercise its powers outside the Core Urban Region. This was wholly unwarranted, Narasimha Reddy said.

The Bill was establishing authorities purportedly for the city, but which could have jurisdiction over any other area in Telangana, he argued.

Demanding that Chapter 26 of the Bill be removed completely, Narasimha Reddy urged the Governor to refer the provisions to the Law Department or the Advocate General for an opinion before according assent.

When the Bill came up for discussion in the Assembly on Friday, several MLAs expressed concerns over the provision to increase property tax annually. After considering the demands, the Bill was passed with approval for a 10 per cent annual increase in property tax.

“The Bill contains no Statement of Objects and Reasons and no preamble. There is no accompanying statement identifying the specific administrative or governance problem the Bill is intended to address,” Narasimha Reddy added.