NGO urges Telangana CM to expedite SCB-GHMC merger

The Cantonment Vikas Manch, a NGO working in the Secunderabad Cantonment, has urged Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to expedite the long-pending merger of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), warning that residents continue to suffer due to outdated governance structures and exclusion from the city’s development plans. 

The NGO, in the representation submitted to the CMO, expressed appreciation for the State Cabinet’s recent decision to merge 27 municipalities located in and around the Outer Ring Road (ORR) with the GHMC. The NGO said the move had renewed hope among Secunderabad Cantonment residents whose demand for inclusion has remained unmet for years.

Despite being located at the core of the GHMC limits, residents face severe hardships because the Cantonment continues to be governed by outdated British-era laws, general secretary of Cantonment Vikas Manch Sanki Ravinder Babu said. Further, the region lacks basic civic amenities and has not held elections for five years, with the administration currently overseen by a Civil Nominated Member, he added.

Calling the situation critical, the NGO wanted expedited consultations with the MoD to complete the merger process and conduct democratic elections in the Cantonment