The SCB- GHMC merger will see Telangana Government’s land bank growing by at least 3,000 acres. Once the Ministry of Defence gives its nod to the excision, the Secundrabad Cantonment Board (SCB) will have to transfer all the land within the limits, currently worth 100 crore rupees, to the municipal corporation.
The State Government can roll out infrastructure on the line of neighbouring GHMC only after the transfer. The approximate land that will be handed over to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) would be over 3,000 acres. This will include Cantonment land, vacant land located within SCB properties like park, service water reservoirs, gardens, SCB employee’s residential quarters, workshops, and other land parcels where new projects were proposed to come up. As the land is sitting in a prime location, its present market value is very high.
It is stated that except A-1 defense land, remaining all categories of land including A-2 land reserved for future occupation of the army (vacant land), B-1 land (under the management of central government, B-2 land (private land), B-3 land (belonging to MoD but given on lease), B-4 land (defence land in Cantonment limits), C-land (Cantonment Board land for its use) and civil areas (land belonging to MoDbut given on lease) has to be transferred to the state municipality.
After SCB transfers the land to the municipal corporation, a committee comprising engineering wing officials will be constituted to recommend building skywalks/flyovers along the busy stretches, foot-over bridges, take-up road widening at major traffic junctions, and other infra projects. Once the excision process is completed it will also cut out certain processes like obtaining permissions from MoD.
A condition mentioned in the MoD’s excision proposal also calls for making a portion of the Cantonment Board Office made available for use by the municipality rent-free, till alternate arrangements are made by SCB officials.