Exercise to bring cantonment areas under municipalities hits roadblock

Already under tough financial strain, the state government will have to shell out six times more more funds amounting to Rs 60 crore annually, in lieu of merely Rs 5 crore revenue generated in six towns. The situation will arise in case it transfers the civilian areas from these cantonment towns in the ongoing excising exercise being carried out.

The state government will, however, be deprived of land ownership despite shelling out crores to merge civilian areas from the six cantonments towns — Dagshai, Kasauli, Subathu, Dalhousie, Jutogh and Bakloh — into the adjoining municipalities.

The liabilities include the salary and pension of its employees. Terming this liability as huge, the state government has apprised the Director, Defence Estates, Westerns Command, that it would require a special grant-in-aid from the Government of India annually to meet these annual establishment expenses.

The state government has also raised other key issues like access to the military stations and alternate access proposed for the areas which would be merged with the state government and division of joint civic amenities especially in the towns of Jutogh and Dalhousie.

Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Devesh Kumar, has requested the MoD, Director, Defence Estates, Westerns Command, through a letter written on November 27 to take these key issues into consideration.

The Ministry of Defence had earlier this year proposed to transfer merely the propriety rights of the assets to the state government for providing civic amenities without transferring the title rights.

“Ownership over built-up area where the civilians reside should be granted to the state government free of cost on the analogy of Khas Yol cantonment where excising was implemented in 2023,”demands the state government. This development is further set to delay the exclusion of civilian areas from the cantonment towns much to the dismay of the residents.