Term of civilian members of cantonment boards extended

The term of the members of cantonment boards across 56 towns nationally, including six in Himachal, has been extended by a year from today pending excising exercise where the civilian areas are being excluded from these cantonment towns.

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There are seven cantonments in the state, namely Subathu, Kasauli, Dagshai, Jutog, Bakloh, Dalhousie and Khas Yol. The Ministry of Defence was excising civilian areas from the 56 cantonments nationally with the exercise having been completed in six cantonments, excluding Khas Yol in Kangra district.

Earlier, elections were held in these towns after every five years to elect civilian members, who constituted the cantonment board along with ex-officio members comprising the officer commanding the station and the chief executive officer.

“These elections were, however, put on hold in 2022 and one private member was nominated by the Ministry of Defence in each board as a stop-gap arrangement. The board’s term has been extended for the fourth time since 2022. Earlier, it was extended by six months twice and in 2023 and 2024 it was extended by a year,” informed a board official from Kasauli.

The Kasauli cantonment which is among the most prominent hill station facing excising is spread on 643.96 acres out of which 47.45 acres form the notified civil area. Once excluded, the benefits of various state government schemes will be available to their residents. Funds will also be made available for repair of roads and other civic amenities in the civilian areas under various state and Central government schemes.

Governed by the Cantonment Act, 2006, the residents have been demanding exclusion of civilian areas from the cantonments. The stringent building bylaws have stunted the development of these towns.

While the modalities of excising was underway, the state government will have to shell out six times more funds amounting to Rs 60 crore annually in lieu of merely Rs 5 crore revenue generated in six towns. The situation will arise once the civilian areas from these cantonment towns are brought under the purview of the state government.

The state government will, however, be deprived of land ownership despite shelling out crores to merge civilian areas from these cantonments towns into the adjoining municipalities.

The liabilities include the salary and pension of its employees which will be consumed in the state government. 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.