Merger of Secunderabad Cantonment Board with Hyderabad civic body to take more time

Hyderabad: The much awaited merger of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation will have wait for a while longer.

The meeting in the SCB that was expected to see elected representatives give their approval to merge with the GHMC was not conducted on Thursday.

“We are awaiting orders from the ministry of defence (MoD). Once the orders are issued, it would go to the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) and other departments. It is only after their approval that we can take the matter forward and give our opinion,” said J. Maheshwar Reddy, elected representative of the SCB.

SCB Chief Executive Officer Ajit B. Reddy said there was no declaration of such a meeting. “There is nothing to be acknowledged as there is no meeting conducted till now.”

Residents of the cantonment board area are eagerly awaiting the merger of the SCB with the GHMC. “The merger will be good news for the people of the Cantonment Board. If the merger were to take place, there would development work and no fund crunch,” said Jeetender Surana, secretary, All India Cantonment Citizen Welfare Association.