Eye on polls, TRS govt to release Secunderabad Cantonment Board ’s dues

SECUNDERABAD: The TRS government seems to be getting ready for the SCB elections. Though the elections (scheduled to be held in February this year) were postponed, it appears the ruling TRS has set its eyes on winning the Secunderabad Cantonment Board and Thursday’s move by the government to release pending dues of Rs 80 crore to the fund-starved board makes the party’s intentions clear.
The dues, which have been pending for the last five years, will be paid in a phased manner to the cantonment board.Finance minister T Harish Rao on Thursday accepted a plea from SCB officials and assured to release the pending dues from this month onwards. He made this promise at a special meeting convened by him. Two ministers — Talasani Srinivas Yadav and Ch Malla Reddy — and SCB ward members were present at the meeting. The SCB officials had made a fervent plea to Yadav and Malla Reddy to clear the dues at a meeting on July 1.
Sources said that following the government’s assurance, proposals of key projects and resolutions, which were passed at the general body meetings in the last five years, will now be fast-tracked. The focus would be improving civic amenities and roads and get them ready much before the poll bugle is sounded.
“The finance department will release Rs 10 crore every month to the cantonment board. The FM asked his department to make the necessary arrangements to release funds to SCB,” ward member J Maheswara Reddy, who attended the meeting, told TOI. He said the funds would help in implementing pending developmental works in the eight civilian wards.
SCB vice-president J Rama Krishna said some of the works would be taken up immediately. “The Centre may announce the cantonment board polls any time and we have to complete the works before the poll schedule. During the last election, we had promised the voters to resolve various civic issues. Unfortunately, we were not able to complete them due to fund shortage. Now, we will finish the works,” he added. A ward member said their fight with the government for release of dues has finally yielded a result. He said a meeting with minister for municipal administration KT Rama Rao would be held soon to iron out the water tariff issue.