The CURE Act came into force across Hyderabad on October 2, replacing the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act, 1955, and introducing a new governance framework for the city’s three municipal corporations. The legislation changes how property tax is calculated, restricts transfers of properties with unauthorised constructions and significantly reduces the role of elected municipal representatives in key decisions.
The Core Urban Region (Integrated Governance) Act, 2026, applies to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation and the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation. Officials said the Act had been published in the Telangana State Gazette, formalising the transition from the earlier GHMC Act.
One of the most immediate changes concerns property taxation. Under the GHMC Act, property tax was calculated using a property’s Annual Rental Value. The CURE Act shifts this to a Capital Value System, under which tax will be calculated as a percentage of the property’s registration guideline value.
The change is part of urban reforms being pushed by the Union government and is expected to increase property tax liabilities across the Core Urban Region. Tax payments on some properties could double, while the impact may be more pronounced in the Cyberabad Municipal Corporation area, where property values are higher than in other parts of the metropolitan region.
The CURE Bill proposes a minimum tax rate of 0.1% and a maximum of 0.5% of capital value for residential properties. For commercial properties, the proposed rates range from 0.2% to 2% of capital value. New property assessments will immediately follow the revised calculation system. The new method may also be extended to properties that have already been assessed from the next financial year.
The legislation also changes how property tax revisions are determined. Under the former GHMC framework, elected representatives had a role in deciding tax increases. Under the new system, any increase in registration guideline values notified by the government will automatically raise property tax, removing the earlier role of elected councils in such revisions.
Another provision prohibits the transfer of properties with unauthorised constructions. The legislation also bars the provision of electricity, water and sewerage connections to properties without an occupancy certificate. Officials who violate this requirement may face disciplinary action. The extent to which the transfer restriction will apply to existing properties was not immediately clear.
The Act removes the power to grant permission for public advertisements from municipal corporations and transfers it to an Advertisements Regulatory Committee. Municipal Commissioners will retain the authority to remove advertisements.
The legislation establishes an Apex Governance Council chaired by the Chief Minister and an Executive Committee chaired by the Principal Secretary, Metropolitan Area and Urban Development. It also creates a CURE Appellate Authority through which citizens can file appeals.
The new framework substantially curbs the powers of the Mayors and elected members of the municipal corporations. With property taxation, civic service eligibility, advertisement regulation and appeals now placed within a reorganised administrative structure, the implementation of the Act will determine how the three corporations coordinate their functions under the new metropolitan governance system.
