Telangana: SCB to use vacant land of B4 for development of civic areas

Hyderabad Hyderabad: Though the final report on the removal of civil areas from the Secunderabad cantonment boundaries, which will outline the properties to be transferred to GHMC, is yet to be finalised, residential welfare associations of Secunderabad Cantonment have urged the state government to use 98.83 acres of vacant land of B4 category to develop civic areas. Recently, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the removal of civil areas from the boundaries of Secunderabad cantonment boundaries, integrating them into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), but how many acres of land will be transferred is yet to be finalised. According to data from Secunderabad Cantonment Board officials, about 2,670 acres of civil land comprising 350 residential colonies, 16 markets, 414 acres of central government land, 501 acres of leased and old grant sites and 260 acres of vacant land parcels are under the SCB limits. But there is no clarity on how much land and which old bungalows will be transferred. SCB locals said the announcement of merger with GHMC has come as a boon and it would be better if the committee submits the final report to the state government as soon as possible so that the merger can happen soon. Suresh Kumar, a resident of Secunderabad Cantonment, said, “Since there is about 98.83 acres of vacant land under B4 category lying barren in the cantonment areas, it would be better if the state government comes up with a proposal to use the vacant land for infrastructure development and transfer it to GHMC limits after the merger.” Fasiuddin, another resident, said, “For decades we had age-old infrastructure that needed a major overhaul and for that we needed land. It would be better if the vacant B4 land in the cantonment is transferred to the state government after the merger, so that infrastructure can be developed including proper educational institutions, health centres.” “The Secunderabad Cantonment is currently classified as ‘A2’, ‘B1’, ‘B2’, ‘B3’, ‘B4’ and ‘C’ in the cantonment’s General Land Register (GLR), which is to be carved out and brought under the jurisdiction of GHMC. Since many open plots in SCB are lying in a neglected condition, we are hoping that after the merger, the plots will be used for the development of the area,” said S Ravindra, another resident of the cantonment.