Secunderabad Cantonment Board to discuss AOC closure

Principal director Jogeshwar Sharma on Wednesday met with the Secunderabad Cantonment Board ward members who brought the Gough Road closure issue to his notice.

Mr K. Rama Krishna, SCB Ward 5 member, said, “The issue was reported to the PD who has asked the Army to make it an agenda in the SCB meeting, take suggestions from the wards members and send the status to the Pune Defence Estate officer.

The same will be informed to the ministry of defence. Malkajgiri MP C. Malla Reddy, being a member of the Union Defence Committee, is una-ble to take any step to stop the closure.”

The Union defence ministry in January 2015 had sent a letter to the chiefs of the Army, Air Force and Navy stating: “Public roads in Cantonment are being closed by the local military authorities without statutory authority to do so and without following the procedure prescribed in Section 258 of the Cantonment Act 2006.”

Under Section 258, a street as defined under Section 2 of the Act, can be permanently closed only by the Cantonment Board for security reasons alone, after giving a public notice inviting objections and suggestions from the general public and obtaining prior permission of the GoC or the principal director in command.