Return CURE Bill to Assembly for reconsideration, Telangana Governor urged

Public policy expert Donthi Narasimha Reddy has asked Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to send the Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Bill, 2026, back to the Telangana Legislative Assembly for a second look. His concerns focus on the bill's governance structure, local self-governance, and property tax rules. Reddy explains that some issues with the bill cannot be fixed through rules after it becomes law.

He notes that the planned CURE Apex Governance Council will have control over the CURE's plans and programs, but will not have elected representatives from the cities. This arrangement raises concerns about the constitution. He also objects to the state government's ability to give CURE authorities power beyond the Core Urban Region.

Reddy wants these provisions removed. He believes the bill lowers the rights and duties of local committees compared to the GHMC Act of 1955. It fails to keep provisions about getting information, checking services, watching institutions, and joining government projects. He wants these powers and duties back. Reddy is worried about how the bill divides the work of new groups and how much power they have.

He is unhappy about the property tax part of the bill. He says there were no answers to questions from the public during the discussions. He doesn't like that there's no special board for property tax in the bill, the government can change how they figure out the base value, and property taxes will automatically go up if the base value changes.

He also questions if the Commissioner can change the groups that property taxes belong to without clear reasons, warning those in advance, or clearly explaining why they made the decision. While the Act does have an appeal process, Reddy says it won't be fair without a good reason for the assessment decision being explained and shared.

They want safeguards for how the property tax money is used, like dividing it for different areas and using some for things like water, sewage, roads, and drainage in the same area. They also want a set time for the temporary property tax rate and rules for fixing assessments correctly. Reddy is unhappy with the changes made to the bill after people shared their thoughts and wants a full list of the changes.

He asks the Governor to send the bill back for another look or to ask the Law Department or Advocate General about the constitution problems and too many decisions made without enough input before giving permission.