Army has notified the closure of Gough Road that connects AOC Circle to Neredmet on May 31. If closed, the road can affect commute between Secunderabad and several northern parts of the city.
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The closure of the road is a hotly contested matter between various citizens groups and the Army administration with the former demanding the road remain open while the latter insists its closure for security purposes. The issue also reached the High Court which allowed the Army to close the road. In the past, the Telangana government had managed to convince the Defence Ministry to let local military authority to keep the road open with assurance to develop an alternative.
“While land negotiation is on between the State and the Central government, the GHMC is preparing project reports for two alternative roads. These reports are expected to be completed soon,” a State government official informed.
Accordingly, the GHMC plans to develop two roads one each from Safilguda Railway crossing to R.K. Puram and to the start of Entrenchment Road passing through Mahindra Hills. These two roads will run along the peripheries of defence land and eventually facilitate the closure of AOC Centre to civilian traffic. However, until the governments agree on land, the project cannot go ahead.
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In all, 34 acres of land are required for developing the roads, 24 acres for the road to R.K. Puram and 10 acres for the connection to Entrenchment Road that will serve as an alternative to Ordnance Road. As compensation for parting with its land, the Defence Ministry has sought land of equal value from the State government.