I receive life threatening messages: Sujatha Gupta

It’s been two years since Secunderabad Cantonment Board’s (SCB) Chief Executive Officer Sujatha Gupta took office. A barrage of developmental activities and initiatives shine on her resume. Prominent among them is the crackdown on land sharks, which has been taken up aggressively, over the last one year. Speaking to Ch Saibaba, she says that her efforts are always contested by encroachers who threaten her with death

Secunderabad Cantonment Board’s (SCB) Chief Executive Officer Sujatha Gupta successfully completed two years in office last month. Some of the major initiatives taken up by her include recovery of service charges up to Rs 12 crore from the Ministry of Defence. Efforts are currently on to recover whooping dues of over Rs 380 crore from the ministry.

Other achievements include formation of a trenching yard at Turkapally for Solid Waste Management on the lines of Panaji in Goa, introducing a helpline system to address public grievances and online verification of taxes to avoid middlemen. A solar power system has also been installed at Karkhana Pump House.

Speaking exclusively to The Hans India, Sujatha says that the board now plans to prioritise works related to water supply management, civic development and generation of revenue from the existing resources. Stringent action will also be taken against encroachers.

“By implementing strict laws and enforcement of the Cantonment Act, 2006, we want to create a sense of discipline among reckless residents and section of people who violate and grab lands that belong to the SCB, Army, Central and State governments,” she said. Commenting on the risks she encountered during the demolition drives, Gupta said, “I received various life threatening messages and criticism from all sections of the society; rich or poor.”

“There are over 150 demolitions that took place till date with the help of our demolition squads and local police to protect immovable properties from jaws of land sharks. I got many supporting and encouraging messages from public and e-governance for booking violators by imposing strict law enforcement. I do not feel it is a dare act, but it is discharging my lawful duties to put an end to law breakers and to respect the law abiding citizens,” she said.

However, majority of the poor people from Karkhana, Bowenpally Market and Annanagar expressed their unhappiness for not giving any notice to them before eviction, to enable them look for alternative places. “Now we lost our livelihood and are on streets. We have never seen such situations for over thirty years,” lamented a car mechanic from Karkhana.