Centre grants one-year extension to Secunderabad Cantonment Varied Board

Hyderabad: The Union govt has granted a one-year extension to the tenure of the Secunderabad Cantonment Varied Board. The decision is part of a broader extension approved for 56 cantonment boards across the country by the Union ministry of defence.According to an official notification issued by a joint secretary in the ministry, the tenure of the existing boards, which was earlier extended for one year, is set to expire on February 10, 2026. The fresh extension will come into effect from Feb 11, 2026, and will remain valid until Feb 11, 2027, or until the boards are reconstituted under Section 12 of the Cantonments Act, 2006, whichever occurs earlier.In Secunderabad Cantonment, the extension means the current arrangement of nominated members will continue for another year, with no immediate move towards holding elections to reconstitute the board. Similar extensions have been notified for several other major cantonments, including Delhi Cantonment, Pune Cantonment, Lucknow Cantonment, and Barrackpore Cantonment.Reacting to the decision, the Confederation of Cantonment Residents Welfare Association, Secunderabad (CCRWAS) expressed dissatisfaction, stating that repeated extensions of nominated boards have deprived residents of an elected local body for over a decade. The association said the absence of elections has weakened accountability and left residents uncertain about grievance redressal mechanisms for civic issues.Satish Gupta of CCRWAS said Cantonment boards are responsible for essential civic services such as sanitation, water supply, roads, street lighting, and public health in defence-controlled urban areas. Residents' groups argue that without elected representatives, public participation in governance and decision-making remains limited.The Cantonment Vikas Manch, which has been demanding the merger of civil areas with the city administration, also voiced concern over the prolonged delay for the merger and their integration into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The group questioned the continued uncertainty surrounding the merger process despite earlier assurances.Ravinder Kumar of Vikas Manch says residents of Secunderabad Cantonment have long argued that restrictive, colonial-era regulations have constrained modern urban development. Civil society groups maintain that the proposed transition aligns with the broader objective of removing colonial legacies and ensuring that cantonment residents are governed by democratically elected municipal institutions. However, despite several procedural steps having been completed, the transition process remains stalled, leading to continued hardship for residents.The Ministry of Defence has maintained that the extensions are purely administrative in nature and are intended to ensure continuity in governance until cantonment boards are reconstituted in accordance with the law. Nevertheless, in Secunderabad Cantonment, the latest extension has once again brought the issues of delayed elections and democratic representation into sharp focus.