SCB demolishes unauthorised function hall in Secunderabad’s Sikh Village

Secunderabad Cantonment Board officials demolished an unauthorised function hall in Sikh Village after a court ruled in the board’s favour. The action followed a legal battle reportedly dating back to 1996, with police deployed to prevent disturbances during demolition

Hyderabad: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) on Friday demolished two popular function halls – KJR Gardens and Viceroy Gardens – near Diamond Point (Karkhana) in the Cantonment, ending a 30-year legal battle.

The function halls belonged to former Congress MLC Kanukula Janardhan Reddy, popularly known as KJR, who served during the YSR regime and was also Cantonment Board vice-president. Until five years ago, he was All India Congress Seva Dal treasurer and South Zone in-charge.

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Cantonment Engineer Ch Uma Shankar, who supervised the demolition of the function halls, told Telangana Today that five sheds were built on 50,000 sq ft of B-3 land, two under the KJR name and three under Viceroy. “According to General Land Records (GLR) No. 463, Bungalow No. 218 categorises the four-acre plot as B-3 land owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) but held or leased by private individuals or entities,” he said.

SCB had approached the court in 1996 over five function halls built as unauthorised constructions on B-3 land. After a nearly 30-year legal battle, the judgment came in SCB’s favour, officials said. SCB Chief Executive Officer, Arvind Kumar Dwivedi, directed the engineering wing to demolish all five function halls.

In a swift operation, SCB engineering officials, backed by local police, reached the function halls premises at 6 am with two jumbo earthmovers. Within five hours, the function halls were reduced to rubble.

For decades, the KJR and Viceroy Function Halls were popular event spaces of Secunderabad Cantonment and Hyderabad city. Known for their grand layouts, these premium venues remained in high demand for elite weddings, high-profile corporate galas, and political gatherings. Each shed has a seating capacity of around 2,000, while the available parking space can accommodate 500 to 800 cars.