Hyderabad: Telangana Municipal Administration Minister KT Rama Rao urged the Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to instruct local military officer (LMA) of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) to open all these roads forthwith and to prevent unilateral and arbitrary decision to close any public road without following due procedure, as contemplated under section 258 cantonment act 2006.
KTR said the closure of AOC roads by the LMA of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) is affecting lakhs of citizens living in the north and north-eastern parts of Hyderabad daily.
In a letter sent on Thursday, he said, “In an arbitrary and unauthorized manner, the local authorities are often resorting to the closure of these roads, resulting in untold hardships to large sections of the people as they have to commute daily. You have to spin.”
The minister had written a letter on this issue earlier also and sought the intervention of the Union Defense Minister in resolving the only pending issue. In his July 2020 letter, he said that the LMA had closed four important roads – Allahabad Gate, Gough Road, Wellington Road and Ordnance Road – citing a rise in COVID19 cases.
“Roads are often closed for reasons bordering on insignificance. The state had taken all necessary measures to contain COVID-19 including the lockdown imposed in May and June, 2021 and in view of the improvement, the lockdown was relaxed. Amazingly, the roads are now closed due to the same COVID 19 reasons,” KTR said.
The Municipal Minister said that no public road can be closed by any authority other than the LMA or the SCB, that too without following the procedure under section 258 of the Cantonments Act 2006.
Continuous closure of roads, defying all standard operating procedures, guidelines and instructions of MoD. In fact, the LMA has added more roads leading to such closures. Besides lakhs of people facing innumerable hardships, the LMA is almost disobeying and neglecting its own SOPs and guidelines, KTR said.
He said that the Ministry of Defense had reviewed the matter of closure of roads in September 2018 and there was an absolute necessity to follow the procedure laid down under Section 258 of the Cantonments Act, 2006, setting aside all the above orders or anything contained therein. and directed that no public road in the Cantonment shall be closed without following the due procedure by the LMA.
KTR said the closure of AOC roads by the LMA of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) is affecting lakhs of citizens living in the north and north-eastern parts of Hyderabad daily.
In a letter sent on Thursday, he said, “In an arbitrary and unauthorized manner, the local authorities are often resorting to the closure of these roads, resulting in untold hardships to large sections of the people as they have to commute daily. You have to spin.”
The minister had written a letter on this issue earlier also and sought the intervention of the Union Defense Minister in resolving the only pending issue. In his July 2020 letter, he said that the LMA had closed four important roads – Allahabad Gate, Gough Road, Wellington Road and Ordnance Road – citing a rise in COVID19 cases.
“Roads are often closed for reasons bordering on insignificance. The state had taken all necessary measures to contain COVID-19 including the lockdown imposed in May and June, 2021 and in view of the improvement, the lockdown was relaxed. Amazingly, the roads are now closed due to the same COVID 19 reasons,” KTR said.
The Municipal Minister said that no public road can be closed by any authority other than the LMA or the SCB, that too without following the procedure under section 258 of the Cantonments Act 2006.
Continuous closure of roads, defying all standard operating procedures, guidelines and instructions of MoD. In fact, the LMA has added more roads leading to such closures. Besides lakhs of people facing innumerable hardships, the LMA is almost disobeying and neglecting its own SOPs and guidelines, KTR said.
He said that the Ministry of Defense had reviewed the matter of closure of roads in September 2018 and there was an absolute necessity to follow the procedure laid down under Section 258 of the Cantonments Act, 2006, setting aside all the above orders or anything contained therein. and directed that no public road in the Cantonment shall be closed without following the due procedure by the LMA.
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