NGO urges Parliamentary Defence Standing Committee to expedite SCB-GHMC merger-OxBig News Network

Cantonment Vikas Manch, an NGO based in Secunderabad Cantonment, has appealed to all 31 members of the Parliamentary Defence Standing Committee, including its Chairperson Radha Mohan Singh, to expedite the merger of the cantonment’s civil areas with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

In a letter sent to the committee, the NGO highlighted the struggles of the cantonment’s 4.5 lakh residents, citing a lack of proper budgetary allocation, manpower, and infrastructure.

“For decades we have lived as second-class citizens in Hyderabad, a city experiencing rapid development, while our conditions remain worse than those of gram panchayats,” the letter stated.

The NGO highlighted that merging the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) with the GHMC would lead to significant improvements in infrastructure, amenities, and public services, besides addressing long-standing grievances of the residents.

The push for this merger aligns with the Government of India’s June announcement to integrate civilian areas of cantonment boards nationwide into local municipalities. Following this directive, State Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari has urged the Defence Ministry to release guidelines for implementing the process, underscoring the State government’s readiness to expedite the merger. In response, the Defence Ministry has issued instructions on the procedural modalities for transferring civil areas from cantonment boards to municipalities.