Secunderabad Cantonment MLA boycotts board meeting, demands SCB civil areas merger with GHMC

Secunderabad Cantonment MLA, Sri Ganesh Narayanan, boycotted a meeting of the Cantonment Board held on on Wednesday (February 18, 2026), protesting against the prolonged delay in holding the Cantonment elections and the Centre’s inaction on merger of the civil areas in Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

The MLA’s move follows a series of protests, including an eight-day relay hunger strike held recently at the Ambedkar statue in Karkhana. He said the agitation reflected growing public anger over governance issues and delays in the civilian areas development.

Instead of attending the board meeting, Mr. Ganesh met Brigadier S. Rajiv, president of the SCB and submitted a memorandum demanding that the merger process be initiated immediately. He urged the officer to forward the representation to the Ministry of Defence and other Central authorities, calling for the civilian areas to be fully integrated with the State government’s municipal corporation.

A Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed to intensify the campaign, bringing together resident welfare associations and community groups to press for the merger and the restoration of elected local governance, as per a press release.