Himachal's Yol Sheds Cantonment Tag As Centre Moves To Do Away With Colonial Legacy

Civilians who were, until now, not getting access to state government welfare schemes through the municipality, will now be in a position to avail of these.

In a major departure from the archaic colonial practice of creating cantonments, Yol in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district has shed its tag as a cantonment. "The military area within the cantonment will be converted into a military station and the civil areas will merge with the municipality," said a defence official.

The move is part of a plan to demarcate 62 cantonment areas across the country.

"This move will prove beneficial to all alike. Civilians who were, until now, not getting access to state government welfare schemes through the municipality, will now be in a position to avail of these. Also, the Army can now focus on the development of the military station," the official added.

This is the first among a series of excision of cantonments. Cantonments are deemed municipalities, which is a state subject. According to news website The Print, the next one to be demarcated would be the Nasirabad Cantonment in Rajasthan.

After Independence, 56 cantonments were in existence. Another six were notified after 1947, with Ajmer being the last one in 1962. The Defence Ministry maintains records indicating that it is the largest landowner in India, with approximately 17.99 lakh acres, of which around 1.61 lakh acres are held in the 62 notified cantonments, and the remaining land, approximately 16.38 lakh acres, is spread across the country and beyond the cantonments, the The Print Report stated.

The Cantonment Board regulates affairs related to the cantonments, such as the construction of new buildings, the height of buildings, commercial conversion, sewage, and other matters. Excision has previously occurred in Ambala and Agra, while cantonments such as Dharamshala and Sitapur were de-notified before 1947. Cantonments are considered municipalities, but they are governed by Cantonment Boards through the Defence Estates Department of the Ministry of Defence, resulting in civilian residents not benefiting from state welfare schemes. This has resulted in widespread demand for the excision of cantonments.

According to sources, a significant portion of the Defence Budget is spent on the development of civilian areas in cantonments. Another source claims that the ever-expanding civilian areas in cantonments are putting pressure on A1 defence land. They argue that military stations are better administered than cantonments, which are remnants of colonial times.