DC debate: Should state government acquire defence lands?

 

 

I have been trying to mitigate people’s problems for years, but could do little due to tough laws with regard to defence lands. I served as an MLA and minister from the Secunderabad constituency several times since 1994, and most of the grievances that I received from the public pertained to problems faced by them in the cantonment and defence lands and regarding Army-civilian conflict.

 

The biggest problems were about the narrow roads, lack of drinking water and a proper drainage system etc. I used to take these issues up with then state governments, but they never pursued the case seriously with the Centre citing strict laws. Fortunately, Telangana now has K. Chandrasekhar Rao as the CM and he has been seriously pursuing the case with the Centre to mitigate the problems of people living in military areas.

 

He has already made a series of trips to New Delhi, met the defence minister several times and sought his cooperation in widening roads, laying of pipelines for drinking water and drainage system etc. Mr Rao’s efforts have started showing results, and the defence minister has responded positively to the handover lands wherever public interests are involved.

 

The state will soon begin road widening works near Annanagar, Rasoolpura, Neredmet etc. to ease traffic congestion. Also, piplelines will be laid to bring Godavari water to the cantonment to resolve drinking water problem. 

Though the proposal to shift the cantonments from the midst of the city to the outskirts is welcome, there are several procedural hurdles and it would take a long time due to tough defence laws.

 

For the time being, the government will concentrate on improving basic facilities in the cantonment area by acquiring lands wherever required and compensate the defence ministry by allotting lands in other areas. We are hopeful of the Centre giving permission to hand over the 60-acre Bison Polo Ground soon to build the new TS Secretariat.

The flow of traffic will certainly increase in the cantonment and defence areas after the new Secretariat is built and the government needs to improve the infrastructure in these areas to meet the demand.

 

One should recognise that there are possibilities of resolving the problems in the cantonment areas even without shifting them to the city’s outskirts. There are a large number of slums in these areas and with the government deciding to build 2BHK houses/ flats for them in other areas of the city soon, these people will naturally move out of the military areas. The places thus vacated can be utilised for laying new roads or widening of existing roads, which will be helpful in resolving traffic issues. Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Commercial taxes minister, Telangana.

 

 

 

For many decades, the Army has performed the task of ensuring the security of prime lands within the municipal limits of the cities mentioned. For what? Only to be driven out one fine day under the guise of security constraints and development plans? That is just not done. Today, the cantonment areas across the country are probably the only lung spaces left in the cities. In the mad race to concretise the cities, government after government seems to be hell bent on taking over well-preserved, secure defence cantonment areas. 

 

Cantonments not only house the defence institutions, training as well as operational, our families are also here. And when we are transferred, our families often stay back due to various compulsions. Is it not mandatory for the civil society to ensure that an Army personnel’s family has access to the same facilities which a normal family does, especially because the breadwinner is away on national duty?

 

When the Army imposed restrictions on the AOC roads, amidst the rancour what stood out was the respect and pride the common citizen had for the Army. People only wanted access to the roads and never asked for shifting of the cantonment area. So much so, at an RWA-Army interaction, a woman candidly admitted that women folk felt secure the moment they entered the cantonment area. Can any civic police chief ever guarantee such security? Also, the temperature, air quality, greenery and general sanitation of the cantonment areas are far better than a civilian area. 

 

In the event of a crisis, the Begumpet airport offers the Army a ready take off facility within 15-20 minutes. Try that from Vikarabad or other locations. And when it comes to promises, of creating infrastructure and alternate arrangements, you have not been able to strengthen the road network or infrastructure in Secunderabad cantonment for so many years. You only sleep, miles to go for promises you cannot keep.

 

To get a perspective from a services background, why do governments want to isolate the service/defence personnel? From floods to riots, disasters to management of civic amenities, it is the Army which is sought after for its commitment and resourcefulness. So much so, the GHMC has made a request for its Swachh Hyderabad campaign to provide 50 Army officers. In times of your need you want us, but when it comes to our habitation, you want us tucked away in some corner. No way. Major Shiva Kiran (retd), Served in the Army Service Corps from 1988 to1995.