Raising concerns over chronic underdevelopment and financial neglect, Secunderabad Cantonment MLA, Sri Ganesh Narayanan, urged the Telangana government to pursue the merger of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and sanction a special annual development package of at least ₹50 crore for the constituency.
Speaking in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, the MLA said Secunderabad Cantonment remained the only constituency in the State under the administrative control of the Central Government, but received no special funds or financial support for civic development. He said the Cantonment Board did not receive even basic Army Service Charges from the Centre, leaving it without resources to undertake infrastructure works or meet salary obligations.
“There is no money for development in the Cantonment area. Even salaries of the Board’s staff are affected. Roads, sewerage, playgrounds and electricity infrastructure are in a very poor state,” he told the House.
Mr. Narayanan said the Cantonment area lay at the centre of a rapidly expanding urban region, particularly after the State government increased the GHMC limits to include 20 municipalities and 7 corporations, yet it had remained excluded from the city’s growth for decades.
