MoD proposes the excision of 58 Cantonment boards, including SCB

Hyderabad: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Monday has proposed to excise civil areas in 58 cantonments, with plans to merge them with State municipalities. Among these cantonments is the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), which has long been in the spotlight for its impending merger with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

This was the written reply given by Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt to a question asked in Rajya Sabha on Monday. The questions were on whether the government has any plans to disband Cantonments in the country, and whether any Cantonment has been converted into military stations. According to the ministry, one Cantonment, KhasYol, has already been de-notified with effect from April 27, 2023.The excision of civil areas and their merger with state municipalities involves active consultation and concurrence of the state governments concerned. Therefore, it is not feasible to provide any timeframe for its implementation. There is no bar on the implementation of state government schemes by state governments concerned in Cantonment areas. All state governments are already extending the benefits of various schemes to the residents in Cantonments.

General Secretary of All Cantonment Citizen Welfare’s Association (ACCIWWA) Jeetender Surana said, “It is a sigh of relief for Cantonment citizens. We can now get the benefits of using fundamental rights and will have better basic amenities under GHMC. Merger helps us to get several schemes of the Telangana state government.