TS GOVERNMENT
HAS ABSOLUTE
RIGHTS ON DEFENSE LAND
Vanam Jwala Narasimha Rao
The Hans India (21-11-2015)
In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Defense
Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, referring to the closure
of Gough road, said that, severe hardship is being faced by a large number of
civilian population residing in many colonies and areas in the Secunderabad
Cantonment Area either due to closure or usage of roads or imposition of
restrictions by AOC authorities. CM specifically requested him to postpone the
proposed closure of Gough road till alternative arrangements are made.
Against
this backdrop interesting information recorded on 10th October 1926,
by Sir William Barton, a former Resident in Hyderabad, about Secunderabad
cantonment land, which is available in India Office Library, London is worth
mentioning. It is evident from the report that, Government of India did not
acquire any land from state Government or erstwhile Hyderabad Nizam Government
for establishing Secunderabad Cantonment. The inference could be that the defense
establishment at Secunderabad is in occupation of state and private lands
without a valid ownership right. Barton report emphasizes that there was no
transfer of ownership of any part of the land to British Government by the
Nizam.
There is no land in
Secunderabad which absolutely belongs to the Government of India. The Military authorities are entitled to
exercise control only over so much of the land within the outer boundary line
as has been actually assigned for Military purposes. Land actually in military
occupation like barracks and parade grounds were handed over only for Military
purposes and it reverts to the Nizam’s Government when no longer required by
the military authorities. The title to the land would, on relinquishment,
revert to the Nizam’s Government.
Secunderabad
city was formed in 1806 and Nizam allotted the land north of Hussein Sagar to
set up the British Cantonment. It was founded as a British cantonment after the
Nizam Asaf Jah II was defeated at the hands of the British East India Company
and was forced to sign the Treaty of Subsidiary Alliance in the year 1798. Subsequently,
various new markets such as Regimental Bazaar and General Bazaar were created. Residency
House, now known as the Rashtrapati Nilayam, the official retreat of the
President of India was constructed in 1860. Being one of the largest
cantonments in India, Secunderabad has a large presence of army and air force
personnel. Area around Secunderabad changed hands between various rulers and by
the 18th century, the area was part of Nizam's Hyderabad.
Noted author and a former bureaucrat
Narendra Luther in his book “Lashkar” (meaning army camp)
commented that British cantonments across India evolved as enduring symbols of
the imperial power. The very location of these cantonments, some of which were
virtually mini-fortresses, was often cited as a reflection of social separation
of the British from the natives. Secunderabad Cantonment has been no different
according to him. Even after independence the same style is continued. In
course of time, the camp expanded to emerge as the first cantonment to provide
a settled home for the British army in the South. The houses built for
officers, Luther recounts, were typified by the one called “The Retreat”, in
which Winston Churchill stayed as second lieutenant in 1896. The house is still
in intact and accommodates a colonel.
Secunderabad Municipality first formed in 1945 was merged with
Hyderabad to form a single Municipal Corporation in the year 1960. Today
Secunderabad is part of the Hyderabad district. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal
Corporation (GHMC) established in 2007 is responsible for the administration
and infrastructure of Secunderabad. Post-Independence, the Secunderabad
Cantonment Board came under the jurisdiction of the Indian Armed forces. Today large
parts of Secunderabad and some parts of Hyderabad, where defense installations
are located come under the purview of Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB). The
infrastructure management and civic administration in the cantonment are
handled by the SCB, which comes under the purview of the union Defense
Ministry.
Consequent
to the treaty of 1768 the British Government undertook to provide Nizam with
two battalions and Sepoys. Later a Resident was appointed at Hyderabad and year
after year the battalions were increased which reached to eight and by 1806
British Government resolved to station the troops at Hyderabad. During the year
1903 the Bolaram cantonment was abolished and merged with the Cantonment of
Secunderabad and the land held by it was occupied by the Military authorities
free of cost. There was no assignment of land by the Nizam to the Military
authorities. The large area of land had been given to British Army at different
times for the use of the Military authorities, starting from 1806. However there
was no transfer of ownership of the lands to the Government of India (British
Government) by the Nizam Government. The 13 Mughlai villages namely, Chinna
Thokatta, Pedda Thokatta, Sitharampur, Bowinpally, Balamrai, Kakaguda, Sikh
Village, Alwal, Marredpally, Rasoolpura, Busareddyguda, Bolarum, Trimulgherri,
and Lalapet were also not the military property. There was at no time any
definite assignment of the land and land was taken up as required by the
Military authorities.
The
lands were temporarily requisitioned by the British Army from the Nizam
Government to meet the exigencies of Second World War and for six months
thereafter. A resolution of Secunderabad Cantonment Board meeting held on 21st
June 1968, to which all the Defense Authorities and Officers of the Secunderabad
Sub-Area were Signatories, ascertain that the Defense Authorities never owned
any land in Secunderabad Cantonment and that whatever land that was
requisitioned temporarily for military purposes was restored to Nizam’s
Government on First December 1945, as it was no longer required for military
purposes. The resolution further noted that, the Cantonment of Secunderabad, in
erstwhile domain of Nizam cannot be equated with the rest of the Cantonments as
the laws applicable in the Secunderabad Cantonment were the laws prevailing in
the Jagirs and Government of Nizam and not the British Indian laws. Starting
from 1806, land was taken by the military authorities from the Nizam’s
Government, as and when needed by them for cantoning of the troops with a condition
that they need to be restored to the Nizam’s Government when no longer required
for military purposes. The case of Secunderabad Town, which formerly formed
part of this cantonment, was restored to the Nizam’s Government.
In
Ameer-un-nissa Begum V. Mahboob Begum, the Supreme Court while referring to the
nature of sovereign function exercised by the Nizam of Hyderabad observed that
"prior to integration of Hyderabad State with the Indian Union and the
coming into force of the Indian Constitution, the Nizam of Hyderabad enjoyed
uncontrolled sovereign powers. He was the supreme legislature, the supreme
judiciary and the supreme head of the executive, and there were no
constitutional limitations upon his authority to act in any of these
capacities. The Firmans were expressions of the sovereign will of the Nizam and
they were binding in the same way as any other law; nay, they would override
all other laws which were in conflict with them. So long as a particular Firman
held the field, that alone would govern or regulate the rights of the parties
concerned, though it could be annulled or modified by a later Firman at any
time that the Nizam willed.
After the integration of
Hyderabad in the Indian Union, the land said to have been given for military purposes by
Nizam and later restored to the Nizam Government as it was no longer required
for military purposes, automatically becomes the state government land with
absolute powers. Any part of the land in the cantonment area either in
Secunderabad or in Hyderabad shall belong to Telangana State Government and it
has an absolute right to make use of it as it deems fit. The military
authorities or to that matter the Government of India’s Defense Ministry should
not have any objection for this. End
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