HYDERABAD: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board reviewed several agenda items at its ordinary meeting on Wednesday, which witnessed high drama after Secunderabad Cantonment MLA Ganesh Narayanan boycotted the proceedings.
He protested against the delay in holding Cantonment elections and the Union government’s inaction on the merger of civilian areas with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. During the meeting, civilian nominated member Bhanuka Narmada took the oath for her second term beginning February 15.
The Board approved a short extension of the annual security contract and the conservancy contract for sweeping colonies and main roads in Bowenpally and Balamrai circles. It also reviewed the desilting of drains, anti-larval operations, and implementation of timeline guidelines issued by the Principal Director, Defence Estates, for online building plan approvals.
An agency was approved to scan and digitise about 20,000 files, including 5,300 building plans and 12,800 assessment and mutation files. The last digitisation was carried out in 2015. The Board also cleared aerial cabling of 2.28 km with 54 poles under telecom infrastructure works as per directions of the Ministry of Defence.
Instead of attending the meeting, the MLA met Brigadier S Rajiv, president of the SCB, and submitted a memorandum seeking immediate initiation of the merger process and its forwarding to the Ministry of Defence and other authorities. The boycott follows recent protests, including an eight-day relay hunger strike in Karkhana.