Living on defence land for generations, Secunderabad Cantonment residents seek freehold titles
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The Cantonment Vikas Manch which sought freehold ownership and official property titles over defence lands they occupy, said some of the families served the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB). File | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
For generations, lakhs of civilians have resided in pockets within the Secunderabad Cantonment designated as defence land, many without formal ownership rights over the properties they occupy. Now, the Cantonment Vikas Manch, an NGO based in the Cantonment, has urged NITI Aayog to recommend granting these residents freehold ownership and official property titles over the land they occupy.
In a representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his capacity as Chairman of NITI Aayog, the NGO said civilian families had been living in pockets designated as defence land for decades. It stated that some of these families have also served the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and the Indian Army establishments.
According to the NGO, the problem is not limited to the absence of formal ownership documents. “Residents of these settlements are also deprived of the legal right to repair their homes, leaving some families living in dilapidated structures, huts and houses with weak walls,” said Sanki Ravinder Babu, general secretary.
The NGO has therefore sought a permanent solution rather than a change limited to civic administration. It has demanded that civilian settlements on defence land be legally allotted to their existing occupants, along with complete freehold ownership and official property titles. “This would enable residents to build safe and permanent houses and live with dignity and self-respect,” the letter stated.
Its demand forms part of a broader four-point proposal for restructuring the civilian areas of cantonments. The first is the complete excision of all civilian pockets from cantonment limits and their merger with adjoining Urban Local Bodies.
The second is the grant of absolute freehold ownership rights to residents. The organisation argued that merely transferring municipal functions to another civic body would be an incomplete cosmetic fix and that residents must receive complete ownership rights over the land and properties they occupy.
The third recommendation concerns the defence land that remains after civilian pockets are removed. The organisation has proposed that it be converted into exclusive Military Stations, arguing that a clearer separation between civilian settlements and military establishments would provide the Armed Forces with greater privacy and enhanced security.
The organisation also linked the property rights issue to a wider civic deprivation in cantonment areas. “Residents face persistent difficulties in accessing basic infrastructure, modern civic amenities and equitable development funds. The military-centric governance model restricts interventions by State government municipalities and leaves civilian pockets underdeveloped compared with adjoining municipal areas,” they added.
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