Deliberations on the excision and merger of the civilian areas of Secunderabad Cantonment with the area under the purview of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) have reached an impasse, with no consensus regarding a proposed alternative road circumventing the Army establishments.
On Monday, a delegation from the local military authority met GHMC Commissioner K. Ilambarithi to thrash out details of the compensation payable in lieu of the land forgone for laying of the road between AoC and RK Puram.
The 6-kilometre road will require 42 acres of Defence land, for which compensation as per the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, was sought, calculated at about ₹450 crore, sources informed. In absence of monetary compensation, a demand for alternative site of 35 acres, commensurate with the at-grade thoroughfare, is reportedly placed before the State government as part of the deliberations.
This will be in addition to the payment of lease for seven acres which is required for the construction of a flyover. It is learnt that a joint inspection will be undertaken in a week to finalise the details, after which a meeting will be convened with participation of GHMC and Defence officials.
An eight-member committee headed by Joint Secretary and Additional Financial Adviser, Ministry of Defence, was constituted over two years ago, to deliberate on aspects such as land and immovable assets, Cantonment Board employees and pensioners, cantonment funds, civic services, movable properties and stores, road management and traffic and records, among others.
A report is said to have been submitted by the committee about three months ago. Mr. Ilambarithi could not be contacted for his version.
Published – March 11, 2025 02:21 am IST
