HYDERABAD: The merger of the Secunderabad Cantonment into GHMC is expected to come with conditions. A letter from the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE), New Delhi, dated July 12, informed local Defence Estate officials that prior permission from defence authorities will be required for construction activities on ‘old grant’ lands, even post-merger.
The DGDE officer clarified that if municipal laws replace the Cantonment Act, 2006, in civil areas of cantonments, the building by-laws of the neighbouring municipality will apply to excised areas. “However, any construction on defence land under old grant terms or leases will still require prior approval from defence authorities,” the officer emphasised.
While the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that civil areas will be transferred to the state municipality and governed by local laws, it assured that the armed forces’ security concerns will remain a priority.
“Any restrictions imposed by the MoD will be challenged in court. There are technically no old grant lands in Secunderabad. The lands belong to the state govt or private owners, as past court rulings have shown,” secretary of the Secunderabad Cantonment Citizen’s Welfare Association Jeetendra Surana told TOI.
Despite over 5,000 properties being tagged as old grant lands, property owners argue they hold rightful ownership, citing documents from the Nizam era, which reportedly stipulated that the land was given to the British temporarily for troop deployment.
