Hyderabad: The Gough Road closure has been put off till November 2016. While the state government had asked for a year’s extension to build alternative roads, the ministry of defence has agreed to six months.
The proposed closure, that will cut off several colonies, has set off protests from affected residents.
Defence minister Manohar Parrikar has proposed to visit Hyderabad in mid-June when he will met the stakeholders — residents, the GHMC, the state government and the Army).
A letter from the ministry of defence stated: “Raksha Mantri has directed that the proposal of the Local Military Authorities (LMA) to close Gough Road in Secunderabad Cantonment may be deferred for a further period of six months, that is up to November 30, 2016. Raksha Mantri will also hold a meeting with all the stakeholders and take stock of the situation during his proposed visit to Hyderabad in mid–June. Meanwhile, local military may be asked to work out a comprehensive proposal to resolve the matter.”
The letter has been directed to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board chief executive officer Sujatha Gupta with a request to liaise with the local military authorities.
Earlier, the Army had set a deadline of May 31 to close Gough Road (All Saints Road).
The alternative plan proposed by the state government and the GHMC, which is yet to get a nod from the ministry of defence, is that two alternative roads will be laid, one from the Safilguda railway gate to Entrenchment Road and another from the Safilguda railway gate to RK Puram Road overbridge.
The file is pending with the Chief Minister’s Office. After the plan is approved, it will go to the ministry of defence for final clearance. After clearance, the GHMC will take a year to complete the work on the alternative routes.
This is the second time that the Gough Road closure has been extended. The earlier deadline was January 1. With the intervention of the state government, it was extended to May 31.
