AP Govt for concurrent polls to Greater Hyderabad, Vizag

Hyderabad, Oct 4 (UNI) Asserting that there was no going back on the decision to form Greater Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, merging adjoining municipalities with them, Andhra Pradesh Municipal Administration Minister K Ranga Rao today said elections to both the civic bodies would be held together once the court cleared the decks.

All legal hurdles had been removed for Greater Visakhapatnam and once the High Court disposed of cases relating to Greater Hyderabad, polls to both bodies would be held simultaneously, he told reporters here.

Asked about opposition to Greater Hyderabad even from Congress legislators, he said the matter was now subjudice. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy would hold talks after the court dealt with the cases to remove misapprehensions in the minds of the people.

Making it clear that revision in Property Tax by civic bodies next year was inevitable to mobilise resources, he said steps should be taken to ensure that the revision was not a burden.

UNI SM AA PR RN1808