Residents urge Defence Estates to resolve civic issues in Secunderabad Cantonment

Secunderabad Cantonment residents demand action on mortgage rules, high property taxes, and delayed elections for better representation.

Residents of the Secunderabad Cantonment area have raised several long-pending civic concerns, including the building permission mortgage system, excess Transfer of Property Tax (TPT) charges, and the continued delay in holding elections to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB).

The issues have been formally brought to the attention of the Principal Director of Defence Estates, Southern Command, Pune. In a representation dated Monday, March 16, Telukunta Satish Gupta, a social activist based in Secunderabad Cantonment, said the issues have been affecting residents and property owners, and require immediate intervention from the concerned authorities.

One of the key concerns raised relates to the building permission mortgage system followed in the cantonment area. “Residential building permissions in areas under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are granted without insisting on mortgage conditions for plots up to 240 square yards. However, within the limits of the Secunderabad Cantonment, mortgage rules are being enforced even for smaller plots, including those measuring around 133 square yards,” they said.

Another issue highlighted in the representation concerns the Transfer of Property Tax (TPT) charges levied in the cantonment area. Citizens in GHMC areas pay approximately 7.6%, including mutation charges, while residents of Secunderabad Cantonment are compelled to pay around 11%. This results in an additional financial burden of about 2.4% on residents of the cantonment, the representation.

The representation also raised concerns regarding the proposed merger of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board with GHMC and the delay in holding elections to the board. “Elections to the Cantonment Board have not been conducted since 2020, with the last elections held on January 11, 2015,” said Mr. Gupta. He added that due to the absence of elected representatives, residents are facing difficulties in resolving day-to-day civic issues and developmental works have slowed significantly.

Residents have requested the Principal Director of Defence Estates to take up the matter with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and other concerned authorities to ensure that elections to the Secunderabad Cantonment Board are conducted at the earliest so that residents’ voices can be heard and development activities can resume effectively.