HYDERABAD: The Union government’s decision to extend the tenure of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board by one year has once again dashed hopes of merging the civilian areas of the cantonment with the GHMC, triggering fresh protests on Tuesday.
Condemning the move, Secunderabad Cantonment MLA N Sriganesh, along with residents, staged a relay hunger strike, demanding that the Centre immediately finalise the long-pending merger. Protesters said repeated extensions of the Board were stalling infrastructure development and denying basic civic amenities to residents.
They pointed out that no elections have been held in the cantonment since 2020 and that after the Board was dissolved in 2021, its functioning has continued through nominated members. The latest extension applies to 56 Cantonment Boards across the country.
Strongly criticising the decision, Sriganesh said the Centre was undermining democracy by neither conducting elections nor approving the merger. He alleged that the cantonment, under control of the Union government, had fallen decades behind the rest of the city due to lack of funds and poor infrastructure, citing inadequate drinking water supply, bad roads, sewage overflow and the burden of an additional 3.5% property registration fee. He said the merger with GHMC was the only viable solution and warned that the protest would be taken to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi if needed.
He also urged Malkajgiri MP Eatala Rajender of the BJP to intervene and press the Union government to expedite the merger.
Sanki Ravinder, general secretary of Cantonment Vikas Manch, termed the one-year extension unfair, saying the merger process had been moving at a slow pace for the past three years and remained critical for SCB’s development.