The objective of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of the various initiatives aimed at implementing new forms of urban governance and the actors involved in the process, in the Andhra Pradesh capital of Hyderabad. The study focuses in particular on the experience of political decentralisation, considered here to be a vital component of governance reforms. It attempts to assess the political capacity of the municipal councillors and to examine their relationship to the municipal administration and to other levels within the regional political system. Secondly, attention is given to recent efforts to enhance public participation in civic affairs. Among large cities in India, Hyderabad has been the at the forefront of municipal reforms in areas such as municipal finance (accounting practices, resource mobilisation, cost-recovery principle), partial privatisation of urban services, introduction of new PPP arrangements for service delivery, and “good governance” through measures aimed at improving transparency and accountability of the government. These reforms have been closely linked to, and driven by, state government policies, notably those implemented by the TDP-led government between 1995-2004. Indeed, during that period, the capital city served as a laboratory for many of the state government’s growth strategies. The fact that the vast majority of Hyderabad’s recent municipal reforms were adopted in the absence of an elected council is particularly relevant for the purpose of this study. It was only in 2002, after a gap of more than a decade, that municipal elections were held. Although the councillors (or corporators) entered office under new legislation, ostensibly designed to activate the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), their scope of action has not changed substantially. By some accounts they may even enjoy less discretionary power than in the previous period. Moreover, the official modalities for ensuring people’s participation, designed at the same time as the reforms, have tended to sideline political parties or elected representatives in favour of other types of individuals and groups considered more neutral. This marginalisation of locally elected officials is one of the main issues that I would like to explore here. Hypotheses will be advanced about its causes and its consequences in terms of democratic decentralisation.