Hyderabad: The draft Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026 for Hyderabad that replaces the existing Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Act, 1955 is held back by critical gaps, finds Janaagraha’s independent assessment.The analysis was conducted at three levels. First, Janaagraha scored the Bill using the city-systems framework which assesses the systemic reforms that impact quality of life. Second, it conducted a comparative analysis of the Bill, the GHMC Act, 1955, and the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024 (GBG Act). Third, the organisation undertook a clause-by-clause study of the Bill.The CURE Bill performed slightly better than the existing GHMC Act (28% versus 23%), largely on stronger transparency provisions and modest planning gains. However, it scores behind the GBG Act (38%), particularly on institutional capacity and empowered local governance, which itself falls significantly short when it comes to what a modern metropolitan governance model requires.“Despite these shortcomings, the Bill is one of the most consequential urban governance reforms proposed for Hyderabad in seven decades. It gives Hyderabad a rare chance to fix how the city is governed — if certain crucial reforms are included,” says the report.
