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Hyderabad: Questions over use of Army roads linger in citizens' minds
Questions over use of Army roads linger in citizens’ minds
Social activists and Resident Welfare Associations want to know whether civilians will be allowed to use the Army roads, will the 21 closed roads be opened and also what will be the fate of the leased properties that are owned by the Local Military Authorities (LMA)
Hyderabad: Following the Defence Ministry's decision to set up an eight- member committee to look into the excision of civilian areas of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and merge them with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), a few social activists and the Resident Welfare Associations have raised certain questions.
They want to know whether civilians will be allowed to use the Army roads, will the 21 closed roads be opened and also what will be the fate of the leased properties that are owned by the Local Military Authorities (LMA).
B T Srinivasan, general secretary, United Federation of Resident Welfare Associations, Greater Hyderabad, said, the "decision of the merging of SCB is very much welcome. Once the civilian area is separated and merged with the GHMC the main question is will movement of locals through certain LMA roads, which is being allowed, the status quo be maintained or they will close. What about the 21 closed roads, will they be opened. It will be better if the committee studies these issues and take decisions as per e needs of the locals."
There are long-lease properties that are owned by LMA; what will happen to them? They are around 117 bungalows and 4,000 properties that are leased for the past six decades and are located in prime areas. Will these properties be reassess and charged as per their locations, he sought to know.
Said C S Chandrashekar, secretary, Federation of North- Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad, "Our main concern is about roads, as the connectivity from the north-eastern area is however through the Cantonment. At present this connectivity is very poor because many Cantonment roads are closed as LMA imposed restrictions. Also, the remaining roads are narrow and century-old. It will be better if the committee takes a decision on re-laying of roads. It should ensure that the north-eastern areas get the requisite level of connectivity with the rest of the city after the merger."
Pointed out social activist Venkat Ramana, "after the merger, the State government should take over the entire road network in the Cantonment and not just the civilian areas. If not once again the locals will be facing the same problem that they now face. Expectation from the merger is that municipal activities should be taken up in SCB on the GHMC lines.
Said social activist Robin Zaccheus, "I think that the decision of merger is not easy. This decision of forming a committee is just an upcoming election tactic. Almost all members of the committee are from the Defence side. Recently, the State government, along with LMA, has taken up a survey on road closure. What happen to that, as no conclusion has been given."
