The Union government has begun the process of disbanding the 62 cantonments throughout the country as “archaic colonial legacies,” with the Yol Cantonment in Himachal Pradesh being the first to get disintegrated.
The objective is to carve out military sections in all cantonments and turn them into “exclusive military stations” with “absolute control” by the Army. In turn, civilian zones will be united with local governments, which will be responsible for their upkeep, among other things. After independence, the Army abandoned the notion of cantonments, owing to disagreements between military and civilian authority, and gradually established 237 military installations under their sole supervision.
Military Cantonments into Stations
The Indian Army plans to combine civil districts at cantonments with municipal corporations and municipalities and rename them military stations in order to lose the colonial label. Yol in Himachal Pradesh is the first cantonment to be renamed a military station, with Secunderabad and Nasirabad among the cantonments slated to downsize. Because some army and civilian pockets are intertwined, not all cantonments will become military stations. The decision will assist civilians who were previously denied access to state government welfare programs and will allow the army to focus more on constructing military bases.
The news comes as the army is evaluating British-era practices in collaboration with all stakeholders, including top brass, serving officers, soldiers, and veterans. With Yol removed from the list, the army now maintains 61 cantonments scattered across the country. Secunderabad in Telangana and Nasirabad in Rajasthan are among the cantonments due to shrink and become military stations, with their civilian portions combined with local civic governing bodies, according to a second source who declined to be identified. To be sure, not all cantonments are likely to become military bases because the army and civilian areas are linked and may not allow for isolation, according to authorities citing the Delhi and Lucknow cantonments.
Civilian Facing Issues in the Cantonments
Cantonments have several restrictions in place including any construction activity or usage of certain roads. These restrictions have become the bone of contention between the people living in these cantonment areas and the military. Civilian residents of the cantonment say they are actually very unhappy with the functioning of cantonment boards.
Civilians who previously did not have access to state government welfare schemes through municipal corporations and municipalities will be able to do so once civilian areas are integrated into the local bodies, and the army will be able to focus more on the development of military stations, according to officials.
Out of 62 Cantonments, 61 are left
With Yol removed from the list, the army now maintains 61 cantonments scattered across the country. Secunderabad in Telangana and Nasirabad in Rajasthan are among the cantonments due to shrink and become military stations, with their civilian portions combined with local civic governing bodies, according to a second source who declined to be identified.
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