HYDERABAD: In a major relief to the residents of Secunderabad Cantonment area, the defence ministry has ordered reopening of all roads, which had been closed earlier, in all cantonment areas in the country.
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the matter along with the Chief of Army Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, defence secretary Sanjay Mitra and other senior officers.
The ministry asked the cantonment boards across the country, including Secunderabad, to give a list of roads that had been closed by local military authorities without following due procedure. The chief executive officers of cantonment boards had been directed to submit the information by May 10. It was decided that all the closed roads in 62 cantonments in the country would be reopened to traffic.
The issue of closure of individual roads will be freshly reviewed and the roads will be reopened. The vice-presidents of all cantonment boards raised issues, mainly about road closure, without following the process of law and in violation of Section 258 of the Cantonments Act by Local Military Authority (LMA). They sought reopening of all roads that were closed in cantonment limits.
Earlier, on May 4, a meeting convened by the defence ministry with MPs and elected vice-presidents of all 62 cantonment boards, undertook a detailed review of the matter. In Secunderabad Cantonment area roads have been closed to traffic for several years.A simplified detailed SOP will be issued shortly to jointly address the needs of the local people and the military establishment. All other issues raised at the meeting on May 4 were discussed in detail and a time-bound action plan is being prepared in consultation with all stakeholders.