J. Ramakrishna, a member of the SCB, feels that the demand for merging the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is unnecessary and unjustified. In a letter addressed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 11, 2023, Mr. Ramakrishna, who also holds position as an executive committee member of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Telangana, expressed concerns about the motivation behind the merger talks.
This correspondence, brought to light by the Cantonment Vikas Manch, an NGO within the SCB jurisdiction, presents a comprehensive examination of the merger proposal over seven pages. Mr. Ramakrishna highlighted that the push for merger predominantly stems from residents within GHMC territories rather than those residing in the cantonment area itself.
“We have become aware of a campaign calling for merger of the civil areas of SCB with the local municipality invoking British colonial rules. We firmly believe that this negative campaign against SCB, spearheaded by individuals residing in B-3 bungalows, holds no merit,” he added. He further stated that the demand for merging SCB into GHMC was raised and supported by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party, mainly because of the land bank within SCB limits. Mr. Ramakrishna suggested that the Centre should explore the possibility of developing cantonment boards into modern townships.
G. Kishan Reddy, the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, endorsed the letter to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 30. Subsequently, on January 16, Mr. Rajnath Singh acknowledged the representation, and the Ministry of Defence informed that the matter had been forwarded to the Army Headquarters (AHQ) and the Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) for examination.
Contrary to the stance presented by Mr. Ramakrishna and endorsed by Mr. Reddy, Sanki Ravinder Babu, General Secretary of Cantonment Vikas Manch, highlighted the longstanding demand for the merger by cantonment residents. “If there are so many problems in the merger then why is the Centre merging other cantonments?”, he said. Additionally, he expressed disapproval of a union minister like Mr. Kishan Reddy endorsing opposition to the merger.
