Hyderabad: Expressing concern over several provisions in the draft CURE Bill 2026, Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajasekhar Reddy on Friday said clauses such as periodic revision of water supply and sewerage user charges could lead to automatic annual hikes, placing an additional financial burden on urban households. He also objected to the proposal for a capital value-based property tax, stating that levying property tax based on capital value of properties could substantially increase the tax burden on homeowners, especially middle-class families, senior citizens and fixed-income households.The MLA submitted representation to special chief secretary, municipal administration, Jayesh Ranjan, raising objections to several provisions of the proposed CURE Bill and urged the govt to comprehensively review the draft before its enactment. In his representation, the MLA stated that while urban development and better governance are welcome objectives, the bill, in its present form, weakens democratic local self-governance and is inconsistent with the spirit of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which guarantees greater autonomy and decentralisation to urban local bodies.He said the proposed apex council and the govt have been vested with overriding powers, thereby reducing the role of elected municipal corporations. The mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee are left with very limited authority, undermining democratic governance. “Although ward committees are mentioned in the bill, there is no statutory requirement to establish functional ward committees with clearly defined powers and financial authority in every ward. This weakens citizen participation and grassroots governance,” Rajasekhar Reddy said. He further said that provisions empowering the govt to suspend resolutions, issue binding directions and dissolve or supersede municipal corporations erode the autonomy of democratically elected local bodies and dilute the concept of local self-governance.
