The Telangana government’s new CURE Act is facing a possible legal challenge after BRS Assembly Whip KP Vivekananda Goud questioned the speed at which the legislation was passed and raised concerns over property taxes and the concentration of powers in the office of the Chief Minister.
Speaking to the media at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Vivekananda said the 465-page legislation had been pushed through the Assembly after about a day’s discussion and without adequate consultation with political parties. He said the BRS was consulting legal experts on challenging the Act in court.
The BRS leader alleged that legislators had been given only about half an hour to read and debate the Bill, making detailed scrutiny of the proposed law difficult. He also objected to the replacement of the 1995 municipal law without what he described as adequate consideration of the views of all parties.
Vivekananda warned that the CURE Act could place a heavier financial burden on poor and middle-class residents, particularly those living on Hyderabad’s outskirts, by creating scope for sharp increases in property taxes. The report did not specify the tax rates or mechanisms that could lead to such increases.
He further alleged that the legislation gave excessive powers to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, while leaving the proposed three corporation chairpersons and legislators with limited authority. According to Vivekananda, the government was seeking to use Hyderabad primarily as a source of revenue rather than strengthening civic administration.
The comments also linked the debate over the new law to the quality of basic municipal services. Vivekananda questioned the need for replacing the existing municipal framework when services such as street lighting and mosquito control were, according to his allegation, inadequate in parts of the city.
The report did not include a response from the Telangana government to the BRS allegations or details of the legal provisions cited by Vivekananda. The scope of any proposed court challenge, including whether it would question the law’s passage, specific provisions or its implementation, was also not stated.
The same media interaction included separate criticism from Kukatpally MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao over alleged irregularities in the 22-A prohibited lands list. Krishna Rao demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge and said the issue threatened the property rights of residents in authorised layouts in the Kukatpally constituency.
Krishna Rao alleged that Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy had made false accusations against him, BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T Harish Rao and former IAS officer Jayaprakash Narayana after they raised the issue in the Assembly. He said he had repeatedly taken up the matter with the Chief Minister, the Revenue Minister and officials, but that registrations were still not being processed despite court orders.
He challenged the government to lift his suspension and allow him to present documents in the Assembly. The report did not state whether the government had agreed to the demand for a judicial inquiry or provided a response to the allegations concerning registrations and the 22-A list.
