Does Nirmala Sitharaman Have a Personal Interest in Opening Cantonment Roads?

On May 22, 2018 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) declared that all the roads within cantonments across the country – barring specific roads and cantonments in Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Delhi – would be open to the public and that all check posts and barricades would be removed by the Army. The stated reason was that closure of cantonment roads to the public has caused great inconvenience to the civilians living around the cantonments.

Subsequently, in a Press Conference on June 5, 2018, the Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that she had ordered these roads to be opened because the local military authorities (LMA) had not adhered to the procedure under section 258 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 before closing the roads. This section specifies that the Cantonments Boards created under the Act can only close a road to the public after publishing a notice inviting objections and suggestions from the civilian populace. The Defence Minister further stated that in future, no cantonment roads would be closed without the prior approval of the MoD. This would however, contradict section 258 of the Cantonments Act which states that the approval must come from the General Officer Commanding in Chief, or the Principal Director. Though the Ministry of Defence letter mentions that opening the cantonment roads to the public is only on a ‘trial basis’, and that the LMAs can temporarily close a road if they receive intelligence inputs dictating that they should. However, the MoD's instructions very specifically lays down that the final decision, even in cases of temporary closure, rests with MoD.

Read More: Incompetence or Impropriety?

Social media has been flooded with rumours that the real reason behind opening the cantonment roads is a misappropriation of prime real estate within these cantonments. Newsclick spoke to Major Priyadarshi Chowdhury, SC (Retd) who, on June 5, 2018, presented a series of sensational tweets alleging that the orders passed by the MoD was nothing but an unholy collusion between officers of the MoD and the land mafia.

Currently, over 11,000 acres of defence land is under encroachment and over 2,700 Old Grant Bungalows (OGB) are under illegal occupation. Various illegal colonies have mushroomed in and around the cantonment perimeters. The cantonments which had been established by the colonial rulers away from habitations have become prime properties today. The nexus between encroachers, Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) officials, MoD officials, and local politicians is well documented. It has also been alleged by some veterans on social media that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her husband Dr. Parakala Prabhakar possess property in the Hyderabad-Secunderabad Cantonment areas. According to the allegations, their property includes one residential plot and one school. This has led to a perception within defence circles that the instructions to open the cantonment roads was issued by the Defence Minister at the behest of the land mafia.

Read More: Cantonment Roads: Two Wrongs Do Not Make a Right

While pursuing these allegations, Newsclick learnt that Nirmala Sitharaman has a house inside the Mehndipatnam Cantonment located at Plot No. M6, Green Lands, Manchirevula Village, Rajendra Nagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Hyderabad, Telangana -500089. Her husband, Dr Parakala Prabhakar owns a Trust called the Parakala Seshavataram Memorial Trust which runs a public school (Pranava The School) located at Greenlands Development, Manchi Revula, Rajendra Nagar Mandal, Ranga Reddy District, Hyderabad, Telangana - 500089.

This school was established in 1997 with Dr. Prabhakar as Chairman & Managing Director and Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman as Director. If one considers the location of both these properties, one cannot help but be suspicious of the reasons behind the recent orders of opening up the cantonment gates.

Read More: Is Real Estate the Real Motive Behind the Opening of Cantonment Roads?

What has also lent credence to this perception is the Schedule of Meetings that Nirmala Sitharaman had with various stakeholders. The details of these meetings have been in circulation on social media. These meetings were also confirmed by the Defence Minister during her press briefing on June 5. The Schedule of Meetings shows that she had eleven meetings from April 2, 2018 to May 22, 2018 when the roads were declared open. In the list of members for each of the meetings, one can see that she had extensive parleys with Cantonment Board representatives, DGDE officials of the 62 Cantonments as well as local Members of Parliament. However, the Station Commanders (LMA) were absent from the list. This is strange since they are the statutory Chairmen of their respective Cantonment Boards.

Read More: Who is Benefiting from the Opening up of Cantt Roads?

Major Priyadarshi sent a letter dated June 18 to the Defence Minister, the Chief of Army Staff, and the Defence Secretary on this issue. In his letter he asked 7 pertinent questions concerning the MoD's decision to open cantonment roads to the public. The questions are reproduced below:

• Is it true that over 11,000 acres of defence land have been encroached on illegally?
• Is it true that over 2,724 old grand bungalows in cantonments have been illegally occupied and/or converted into commercial establishments?
• Does the present decision of the Ministry of Defence contradict the Hon'ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana's decision in 2014 which upheld the closure of roads in the Secunderabad Cantonment?
• What steps has the Ministry of Defence taken in relation to CAG and DGDA reports recommending the disbandment of the DGDE?
• Does the present decision take into consideration sections 7 and 8 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923?
• Is it true that the procedure laid down in section 258 of the Cantonment Act, 2006 only applies to Class C lands? If not, does it apply to Class A lands as well?
• Is it true that the Station Commanders (LMAs) were not consulted prior to taking the decision to open the cantonment roads to the general public?

At present the responses from the concerned authorities is awaited. This article will be further updated once the authorities respond.