RWAs, MLAs raise objections to Telangana’s CURE Draft Bill

Elected representatives, including BRS MLA M. Rajasekhar Reddy and BJP MP M. Raghunandan Rao, have opposed the Telangana government’s Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) Draft Bill, citing excessive centralisation, automatic tax hikes, and weakening of local self-governance.

Hyderabad: Apart from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), elected representatives have urged the state government for a comprehensive study of the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) Draft Bill before enacting it, and raised objections to certain Sections.

Malkajgiri BRS MLA M. Rajasekhar Reddy objected to several provisions and said the Draft Bill in its present form weakened democratic local self-government and was inconsistent with the spirit of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which guaranteed greater autonomy and decentralisation to Urban Local Bodies.

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He also raised concerns about what he described as excessive centralisation of powers, stating that the proposed Apex Council and government were vested with overriding powers, reducing the role of elected Municipal Corporations. He said the Bill enabled periodic revision of water supply and sewerage user charges, which could result in automatic annual increases, placing an additional financial burden on urban households.

The MLA also objected to the proposal to levy property tax based on Capital Value and urged the Telangana government to hold wider consultations with elected representatives.

BJP MP M Raghunandan Rao too raised objections and said the Capital Value-based property taxation and provisions for periodic revisions were unacceptable.

Though RWAs submitted more than 3,000 representations with suggestions and objections on the Draft Bill and sought an extension of the date, the Telangana government did not take the demand into consideration and stopped accepting suggestions and objections on July 24.