Hyderabad: As questions continue to be raised by Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) residents over when the next ward member elections — last conducted in 2015 — will be held, the prevailing situation has resulted in the civic issues going unaddressed.The eight wards in the board have been without an elected representative since 2021, when the Ministry of Defence (MoD) extended the tenure of the previous batch of elected members by a year. The elections are usually held once every five years.BT Srinivasan, secretary general of the Confederation of Resident Welfare Associations (CoRWA), said: “It’s really difficult to reach out to officials without elected members. We face so many issues, such as poor water supply, clogged drains, and sub-standard sanitation facilities, but for them to be addressed, we need someone to represent the common people.”Srinivasan said, “Right now, the board is run by Army officials and a nominated member. The population of the cantonment is more than 4 lakhs. How can one nominated member take care of all our issues?” Residents say they have been told elections will take place once the merger between the SCB and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which has been in the works since early 2023, goes through.“We’ve been hearing talks of the merger for some time now, but on the ground, there has been no effort to initiate it. Other state govts and cantonment boards have formed committees to implement the transition, but here, there has been no progress,” said Jakkula Maheshwar Reddy, a resident of Bowenpally and one of the elected representatives in the previous council from Ward-1.Board officials said it is difficult to predict when the elections will be held, as it is solely up to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). “Lately, we have not had any intimation from the ministry to hold elections, so for now there has been no fixed date. Whether it will happen before or after the merger, we can’t really tell,” said Madhukar Naik, chief executive officer (CEO) of SCB.
