Rajendar, Residents Push For Secunderabad Cantonment Polls

HYDERABAD: Intervention by MP Etala Rajendar has added political weight to long-pending demands from Secunderabad Cantonment residents over stalled local elections, delayed civil area excision and deteriorating civic governance.

On Tuesday, the Malkajgiri MP met and spoke with Rakesh Mittal, joint secretary in the Department of Defence, who was in town, seeking urgent action on both democratic representation and employee welfare in Secunderabad Cantonment. In his representation, Rajendar flagged what he described as an administrative vacuum in civilian areas and pressed for housing rights for long-serving Cantonment employees.

The MP’s intervention came amid growing pressure from resident groups who also met and spoke with the Defence Ministry official at the Secunderabad Cantonment Board office near the Secunderabad Civil Court, demanding immediate conduct of Cantonment Board elections pending since 2020.

Representatives of the Confederation of Cantonment Residents Welfare Association Secunderabad told the joint secretary that Cantonment Board elections were last held on January 11, 2015. “For nearly 12 years, civilians have had no elected local body, even though the Constitution mandates local body elections every five years,” the association told this paper.

Residents said the absence of an elected board had led to a breakdown of civic accountability. “No developmental works are being taken up, basic civic issues remain unresolved, and there is no platform for residents to voice grievances,” one of the representatives said, warning that repeated postponements had led to administrative stagnation and erosion of public trust.

During the meeting, residents also raised concerns over the proposed merger of Cantonment civilian areas with municipal corporations. While noting that many residents oppose the merger, they told the defence ministry official that uncertainty over the proposal could not be used to indefinitely suspend elections. “Until any merger is legally finalised and implemented, elections must be conducted,” they said in the representation.

Similar issues were taken up by the Cantonment Vikas Manch, which met and submitted a detailed representation seeking time-bound completion of the excision of civil areas from Secunderabad Cantonment and their merger with the GHMC.

In its submission, the Manch said residents had lived for decades under restrictive regulations that hindered modern urban development despite the Cantonment being centrally located within Hyderabad. “Residents are denied standardised building bylaws, infrastructure funding and democratic administrative benefits available to neighbouring municipal areas,” the organisation said, calling it a denial of equitable urban growth for nearly 4.5 lakh citizens.

The Manch pointed to procedural milestones already completed, including Defence Ministry modalities issued on May 23, 2022, the constitution of a six-member state committee on August 3, 2022, in-principle concurrence on December 14, 2022, and the formation of a high-level Defence Ministry committee on January 4, 2023. It also cited a high-level teleconference chaired by the defence secretary on June 25, 2024. “Despite this, the process remains stalled,” a representative pointed out, urging the ministry to fix a strict timeline and issue the final notification.

Rajendar also raised housing concerns of Secunderabad Cantonment employees, many from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities working as Safai Karmacharis. In his representation, he said Cantonment Fund quarters occupied for generations had become dilapidated and unfit for habitation and that long-serving, non-transferable employees deserved dignified housing. The proposal suggested trenching ground lands outside the Cantonment area for allotment.

Resident groups told Deccan Chronicle that Mittal responded positively during the meetings and assured that steps would be taken to conduct Cantonment Board elections at the earliest.