Residents demand SCB’s report to be made public

Residents of the Ferozepur cantonment in Punjab had quick relief from road closure, when one of the arterial roads (Rana Pratap Road) was reopened on May 10 following directions of the Director General, Defence Estates (DGDE).

Residents using SCB roads are not as fortunate. Those affected by the road closure are demanding that the report sent to the DGDE by the SCB CEO should be made public.

The DGDE had sought a clarification from all cantonments on whether the roads closed by the Local Military Authority (LMA) were Army unit lines or roads used by civilians. In response, the SCB CEO had sent a fact-finding report with inputs from from a judgement delivered by Justice P. Naveen Rao of the High Court, which said the road closure cannot be held to be arbitrary.

Mr Jitender Surana, secretary of the All India Cantonment Citizen Welfare Association, said, “The re-opening of Rana Pratap Road in Ferozepur was done quietly. Residents were not informed about it. This means the LMA did not follow the law and closed the road. It is the same case in SCB. The LMA has closed roads without following Section 258 of the Cantonment act.”

Mr Pankaj Sethi, a resident of Yapral and representing the north-eastern colonies, said, “The CEO of SCB should reveal the details of gross violation of rules regarding closure of roads and make the report public.”