HYDERABAD: MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao said on Thursday that a majority of the people living in Secunderabad Cantonment Area wanted a merger with the GHMC.“There is a lack of coordination in implementing developmental schemes and the State government as well as the people are facing a lot of trouble. Moreover, the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) officials are closing roads as per their whims and fancies. This is causing a lot of hardships to the residents,” the Minister said.
He added that the government was unable to implement TS-bPASS or open Annapurna canteens in the region due to lack of cooperation from the SCB. “The government is constructing flyovers, skyways and other projects in the city. But the same can’t be done in the Cantonment area. The Board is not giving us the permission to do any of these things. Their lack of cooperation is very unfortunate,” Rama Rao said.
He said that around 75 per cent of the Cantonment residents were in favour of a merger of the SCB with the GHMC. “We will take up this matter with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He will take the final call,” Rama Rao said.
All-round progress
Echoing the MAUD Minister’s words, Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav said that the all-round development of the Cantonment could be achieved only if it was merged with the GHMC.He, along with Home Minister Mahmood Ali, inaugurated the 2 BHK Dignity Housing scheme at Rasoolpura Colony, which falls under the Cantonment segment, on Thursday. “The area was far from developed as it is under the control of the Central government,” the Home Minister said.