HYDERABAD: In a move that has raised hopes of over 10 lakh people living and commuting around the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), the Director-General Defence Estates (DGDE) had asked the Chief Executive Officers of all cantonment boards in the country to immediately clarify issues related to closure of roads. The DGDE has asked cantonment boards to clarify whether the roads closed by them were previously being used by civilians, and if vehicular traffic was being allowed on them.
The SCB has received a letter asking it to submit a report by May 10 on the roads closed by the Local Military Authority (LMA). There are a total of 15 such roads in the city. SCB vice president and MP M Malla Reddy, who has been campaigning against the restriction of access for civilians, has been saying that the LMA had not followed the due process of law and had taken unilateral and arbitrary decision to close the roads in violation of Section 258 of the Cantonments Act 2006. The contention of Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNCS) is also that LMA closed roads ignoring the provisions of Cantonment Act.
The letter also seeks clarity on procedures that were followed before the roads were closed to civilian access. It said that when roads on A-1 (army lands) land are closed, the LMA generally terms them as ‘Unit Line Road’. “It needs to be ascertained by CEOs whether these roads are Unit Line Roads or not,” added the letter.
When contacted, Federation of Northeastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNCS) spokesperson CS Chandra Shekar said the Ministry of Defence’s order on Jan 7, 2015 asked reopening of public roads in cantonment area. “The letter is misused in Secunderabad by LMA claiming that the closed roads are Unit Line Roads. The army has begun to arbitrarily close these roads which are used by civilians for the last 150 years at least,’’ he added.
Speaking to Express, S Chandra Shekar, spokesperson of Open Secunderabad Cantonment Roads (OSCAR) organisation said the pervious CEO of SCB Sujatha Gupta confirmed to Principal Director Defence Estates that closure of several roads under SCB are not as per norms. He said A-1 land is under the jurisdiction of army and C category is under cantonment. “Notwithstanding, roads constructed on A-1 land can also be used by public. We recommend that both A-1 and C- category roads to be opened,’’ he added.