Hyderabad: Union defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday responded positively to the Telangana State government’s plea to part with the 60-acre Bison Polo Ground in Secunderabad for construction of the new state secretariat in lieu of alternative land, and other defence-related issues.

Mr Parrikar promised Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to depute defence officials soon to survey the ground and also to discuss other issues including allotment of defence lands for expansion of roads in the Cantonment area, permission to lay pipelines in the Cantonment to bring Godavari waters to the city from Yellampally and so on.

The defence minister also okayed the establishment of two Sainik Schools for Telangana, which will be located in Mahabubnagar and Warangal districts. The Chief Minister called on the defence minister in New Delhi and spent about 40 minutes with him and also met Union home minister Rajnath Singh to discuss various Defence, police and Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act related issues.

“The Chief Minister met the defence minister and requested him to allot 60 acres adjacent to the Gymkhana grounds in Secunderabad in lieu of alternative land. The Defence minister was quite positive to the request. He also promised two Sainik schools to the state,” said Mr Jitender Reddy, TRS Floor leader in the Lok Sabha. Defence and state officials will jointly survey the lands soon, he added.

Mr Jitender Reddy also said that Mr Parrikar had requested the Chief Minister to allot additional land if needed for the Tata Aerospace project at Adibatla near Hyderabad, and the Chief Minister readily agreed.