Hyderabad Government and Administration

Back when it was still a state unto itself, Hyderabad was governed by a hereditary line of rulers called Nizams, the shortened title of Nizam-ul-Mulk, which meant Administrator of the Realm. This dynasty was founded by Mir Qammar-ud-Din Siddiqi, a viceroy of the Mughal empire. When the Mughal empire crumbled, the viceroy in Hyderabad declared the place independent and by the 18th century, it had surpassed the Mughals. When the reorganization of the Indian states happened in 1956, Hyderabad was split into three: Telangana, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

The city of Hyderabad today is a mega-city and is currently the capital of Telangana. The city is run by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), headed by the City Mayor who has a few administrative powers. GHMC’s geographical area covers most of the city’s urban development agency, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Agency (HMDA). It was formed on April 16, 2007 when 12 municipalities and 8 villages were merged. Today, it is in charge of the infrastructure as well as the civic needs of the city, with all of Hyderabad’s 150 municipal wards overseen by a corporator. The administration corporators, on the other hand, are elected by popular vote, and almost all of Hyderabad’s political parties field their own candidates. Hyderabad’s municipal limits cover three districts, and the administration of each district is headed by a District Collector whose tasks include updating property records and revenue collection for the central government, as well as overseeing the elections held in the city. The three districts that are covered by Hyderabad’s municipal limit are Hyderabad, Rangareddy, and Medak. The HMDA, on the other hand, is headed by the Chief Minister along with a Commissioner. Its main purpose is to undertake developmental projects in a jurisdiction of above 6,250 sq. meters.

Previously, the mayor of Hyderabad had been selected by the legislative body of the GHMC but the state government modified the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act of 1955 to stipulate that the mayoral elections be held simultaneously with the coporate elections. The chain of authority goes such that the Mayor and the Corporate legislative body can be dismissed by the state government, and have been in the past.

There are also some parts of Hyderabad that is under the jurisdiction of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SBC) mainly because of a large presence of military units. However, most of the Board’s jurisdiction falls to Hyderabad’s twin city, Secunderabad. The Board provides basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, parks, water, and other municipal needs to the people of both cities residing under the its jurisdiction.

As for policing, Hyderabad’s state police is divided into two: the Hyderabad Police and the Cyberabad police. Both come under the state of Home Ministry and are headed by police commissioners who are officers from the Indian Police Service. The city itself is divided into five police zones, with each zone headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Traffic Police, on the other hand, is semi-autonomous, under both Hyderabad and Cyberabad commissionerates.