Secunderabad Cantt Roads: All About The Issue That's Causing Dispute Between State Govt And LMA | Explained

The Federation of North-Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS) have claimed that 21 civilian roads were blocked by the LMA which prohibits Section 258 of Cantonment Act, 2006

People staged a sit-in protest at Golden Palm Enclave in Secunderabad. (Twitter/File photo)

New Delhi: With residents living in and around the Cantonment area in Secunderabad facing difficulties in commuting due to road closure by the Local Military Authorities (LMA), Telangana Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) KT Rama Rao warned Saturday that the government would cut power and water supply to areas under the limits of cantonment.

He was speaking in the Legislative Assembly.

Responding to KTR's warning, BJP leader NV Subhash said the minister doesn't respect the Indian Army, which is working hard to protect the nation, India Today reported. "Is TRS trying to remove the military base from Hyderabad? What are they trying to say?" Subhash questioned.

A Lingering Issue

The issue dates back to several years and in August 2020 the Supreme Court even decided to take up as a public interest litigation (PIL) an email complaint over road closure in Secunderabad Cantonment Board area. 

During the winter session of Parliament in 2021, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president and Malkajgiri MP A Revanth Reddy asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to clarify why civilian roads in the Cantonment area were closed. The Congress leader had also highlighted the hardships faced by the commuters, including schoolchildren, for more than five years as they were forced to take longer routes and suffer traffic snarls to reach their destinations.

Responding to Revanth Reddy's claims, the MoD had said that only two roads in the Cantonment area had been closed, that too "partially". This reply agitated the local resident welfare associations (RWAs), who claimed that information provided by MoD was wrong and misleading, Times of India reported. The representatives of one of RWAs, the Federation of North-Eastern Colonies of Secunderabad (FNECS), claimed that overall 21 civilian roads were blocked by the LMA, flouting Section 258 of Cantonment Act, 2006.

Explaining Section 258 of the Cantonment Act, 2006, FNECS secretary CS Chandrasekhar told ToI: "On closing and opening of roads, Section 258 of the Act clearly states that a Board shall not permanently close any street without prior permission of the General Officer Commanding in Chief or the Principal Director. Provided that no such street shall be closed for reasons other than the security reasons and without giving a public notice inviting objections and suggestions from the general public."

Centre's Order To Open All Cantonment Roads In Country For Civilian Access 'Not Followed'  

Earlier, in 2018, after several "emotional" requests from several Parliamentarians, then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had issued specific orders to open all Cantonment roads across the country for civilian access. Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, was quoted as saying that the LMA refused to follow the defence ministry orders.

In December 2021, TRS supporters led by M Krishank, chairman of the Telangana Mineral Development Corporation, staged protests, demanding that roads shut for residents in the cantonment area be opened.

KTR's ministry had last year raised the issue with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. On January 2, 2022, also, when KTR and Union Minister Kishan Reddy attended the inauguration of a six-lane two-way flyover in Hyderabad's Sheikpet, the former requested the latter to help reopen the cantonment roads, to which the Union minister responded saying the Centre was committed to the development of Hyderabad and would extend cooperation in this regard.

The roads, however, remain closed and dispute between local residents and the LMA persists.

Sri @kishanreddybjp Garu and Sri @rajnathsingh Ji

This highly objectionable & illegal closure of roads is causing heartburn among millions of civilians in and around the Secunderabad Cantonment area

What is preventing Govt of India from reining in violation of LMA rules? https://t.co/SI9xQuWgwh

— KTR (@KTRTRS) December 18, 2021

In a recent development, Secunderabad Cantonment MLA G Sayanna and Arvind Kumar were directed to provide a factual report about the closure of the civilian roads and their impact on residents and several commuters to the MoD.