The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has urged the Telangana government not to approve a proposed study tour of 145 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) corporators, arguing that the visit would serve no public purpose and amount to a waste of taxpayers’ money as the corporators are nearing the end of their term.
In a representation dated December 30 (Tuesday), addressed to the Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, the forum said that the Standing Committee of the GHMC had cleared the proposal in its meeting on December 29. The study tour is intended to expose corporators to urban governance practices in other cities.
The forum, however, pointed out that the term of the current set of corporators ends in February 2026. By the time the proposed tour is completed, it said, there would be “hardly any time left” for the elected representatives to apply the knowledge gained from such a visit. As a result, the exercise would not benefit the people of Telangana in general or Hyderabad in particular.
Describing the proposal as an avoidable expense, the forum said the tour would amount to squandering public funds without any tangible return. “The idea behind a study tour is meaningful learning and implementation, neither of which is possible when the term is about to end,” the representation said.
The letter, signed by Forum for Good Governance president M. Padmanabha Reddy, requested the Principal Secretary to intervene and stop the proposed tour. A copy of the representation has also been marked to the GHMC Commissioner, seeking similar action.
The government and the GHMC are yet to respond publicly to the forum’s objections.
Published – December 30, 2025 06:36 pm IST
