Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved ₹303 crore for the refurbishment of the Secunderabad Cantonment in Telangana, according to media reports.
The funds, linked to the transfer of cantonment land to Hyderabad’s urban planning body (HMDA) for elevated corridor projects, will bypass standard treasury procedures through a special escrow arrangement, and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy wrote twice, regarding the same, to the defence minister, as per the media reports.
An escrow arrangement/mechanism is a special kind of account that ensures the money is safely held and used only for a specific purpose.
The ₹303 crore fund is part of an agreement whereby Hyderabad's urban planning agency (HMDA) will receive some land from the Secunderabad Cantonment to construct elevated roads, the media reported. This compensation amount will be held in a reserved Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) account instead of the Consolidated Fund of India.
Also Read: Anil Vij seeks probe into cantonment land cases
Defence Ministry asked the state govt to prioritise 4 areas :
- Upgrading underground drainage systems
- Supply of drinking water
- Building retaining walls along drainage channels
- Improving internal roads.
Reddy hailed the approval as a "watershed moment" for residents of the cantonment while expressing gratitude to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
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