Secunderabad Cantonment’s BJP wing has accused the State government of not holding a “single coordination meeting between the local military officials and its own officials for the last six years” which could have led to resolution of many issues and for not taking a single step towards developing alternate roads like Gough Road.
“The government cannot wash off its hands by complaining against the military authorities when it has been refusing to heed requests to host the annual liaison meeting between both parties despite repeated pleas. It was an annual affair till 2014 when many contentious issues were being sorted out but for reasons best known, the practice has been dispensed with,” charged senior leader and former vice-president of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) J. Pratap.
“The State government through the GHMC, municipal and revenue authorities also took up a survey on the prompting of the High Court for a plan to build alternate roads in lieu of those the military wants to keep the civilians away. However, there has been no progress to take up these works,” he pointed out. Mr. Pratap noted that Minister for Municipal Administration, IT and Industries K.T. Rama Rao had written to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh objecting to the closure of roads without mentioning the reasons for the delay in taking up alternate roads.
“We were informed that if the government finalises the requirements of defence land for road widening or building flyovers like the one proposed to connect to Rajiv Rahadhari towards Karimnagar, separately, and with prompt payment of compensation, the land will be handed over without much ado,” he said.
In fact, the governments of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and even Delhi had obtained substantial extent of defence lands for building roads or flyovers in their respective cities, said the former VP and urged the government as well as defence authorities to make joint efforts in resolving the issue pending issues for the benefit of people of twin cities.
