The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is preparing its upcoming budget proposals for a much larger area after a big merger. The GHMC's area has increased from 650 square kilometres to nearly 2,000 square kilometres. To serve this bigger region, the budget size could rise by ₹1,500 to ₹2,000 crore. Officials said the proposals will be presented to the standing committee within a week. The Council meeting to approve them may happen in January. After approval, the proposals will be sent to the government to consider including them in the state budget. On Wednesday, after the government announced the merger of surrounding urban local bodies (ULBs) into GHMC, Commissioner R.V. Karnan assigned deputy municipal commissioner rank officials to take charge of these ULBs under zonal commissioners' supervision. The ULBs were converted into GHMC circles, with zonal commissioners overseeing them. By Thursday evening, GHMC officials took over files and documents from all 27 former municipalities and corporations. They also put up GHMC signs on their office buildings. Commissioner Karnan said a draft notification for ward delimitation will come soon, inviting claims and objections. The whole process is expected to finish by December 27. Earlier, the State Cabinet passed three key ordinances amending the Telangana Municipalities Act, 2019 and the GHMC Act, 1955. These changes, approved by Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, allow GHMC's expansion up to the Outer Ring Road including all nearby ULBs.