Secunderabad Cantonment Board: Guidelines issued for merger with GHMC

Mixed reactions as some are hopeful while a few fear bureaucratic delays

Hyderabad: As authorities work out the modalities for the excision of civil areas within the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) limits and their merger with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), there are mixed reactions from cantonment residents, who have been supportive of the issue for a long time.

While many are hopeful, after years of back and forth and the multiple challenges they have endured, some remain sceptical and fear that bureaucratic procedures might take longer than expected.

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Defence Estates Organisation on Sunday issued broad guidelines and principles for the excision of the civil areas of different cantonments, including Secunderabad Cantonment, and their merger with the adjoining State municipalities. union Defence Secretary A Giridhar also held a conference with State government representatives recently.

Access to roads

One of the major challenges for the Cantonment residents was access to roads, given that the army officials were in charge of key connecting roads between the twin cities. This was also one of the issues that motivated many residential welfare associations to bat for the excision of civil areas.

Expressing hope after the merger, Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad secretary CS Chandrasekhar says that road closures must be unambiguously discussed. “When the authorities are discussing the terms, they must discuss what will happen to the roads. There are gates that the army authorities can use whenever they want and close the roads for civilians. This is a major problem given that public transport is also not good here,” he says.

Even today, commuters shuttling between the twin cities face significant hardships every day. A journey which can be completed within 800 meters, if the gates are closed, would force them to travel for about eight to 10 kilometres, says Chandrasekhar.

According to the proposed modalities for excision, “The CB shall propose traffic restrictions in consultation with LMA and State Municipality to ensure that excision does not lead to bulk traffic passing through Cantonment area.” Given the increased vehicular traffic in recent years and the expected excision, it remains to be seen how municipal officials will be able to safeguard the interests of commuters from civil areas.

Geographical challenges

Transport is not the only significant hardship residents of the Cantonment board face. The strict regulations on construction, acquiring loans on property within the SCB, and hiked charges as per the union regulations are some other difficulties.

While these might be resolved after the excision, secretary of Secunderabad Cantonments Citizens’ Welfare Association Jeetendra Surana expresses concerns over how the authorities would determine the boundaries of civil areas, given that army buildings are spread across the region. The association recently said that the State government should assert its rights over all cantonment lands and merge civil lands with GHMC.