RWAs want officials to clear fog over SCB-GHMC merger

Hyderabad: With just a few days left for the upcoming stakeholder meeting on the excision of civilian areas that is scheduled on December 4, hopes are rising that the merger of Secunderabad Cantonment with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is likely to be completed very soon. Regarding this, various residential welfare associations have submitted a letter to concerned officials and urged them to come up with clarity on the merger in the upcoming meeting.

Recently, Cantonment Vikas Manch, an organisation that has been fighting for the merger has submitted a representation letter to Radha Mohan Singh, Chairperson of the Defence Standing Committee, to intervene in the long-pending issue of merging Secunderabad Cantonment with GHMC.

According to the sources, several development activities are taking place in other cantonments across India regarding mergers but whereas in Secunderabad Cantonment there has been not much happening with the excision. The last meeting was held in June with Telangana Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and since then, no high-level meetings have been convened. Also, the final report is yet to be released in regards to how much land will be handed over to GHMC. There has been hope in the upcoming meeting that there would be clarity given on land. Sanki Ravinder Babu, general secretary of Cantonment Vikas Manch, said, “Despite progress made by the Defence Secretary and state government officials, the merger process is taking longer than expected. We hope that the merger process will be fast-tracked in the upcoming meeting, and that the problems faced by 4.5 lakh residents – such as lack of proper budget, manpower, infrastructure, and basic amenities will be solved after the merger.”