The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has proposed to remove civil areas from 58 cantonments and merge them with State municipalities. One of these cantonments is the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB), which is expected to merge with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt provided this information in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. The question asked if the government plans to disband cantonments in the country and if any cantonment has been converted into military stations. The ministry stated that one cantonment, KhasYol, has already been de-notified from April 27, 2023.
The process of removing civil areas and merging them with state municipalities requires consultation and agreement from the respective state governments. Therefore, a specific timeline for implementation cannot be provided. However, state governments are allowed to implement their schemes in cantonment areas. Residents in Cantonments already receive benefits from various schemes implemented by state governments.
The General Secretary of All Cantonment Citizen Welfare’s Association (ACCIWWA), Jeetender Surana, expressed relief over the merger. He mentioned that merging with GHMC will provide Cantonment citizens with better basic amenities and access to various schemes offered by the Telangana state government.
