KULLU: The residents of six cantonments in Himachal Pradesh are up in arms against the Union ministry of defence (MoD) for introducing a new land ownership condition in the ongoing excision process even as the Himachal Pradesh Cantonment Welfare Association has urged the state govt to turn down the MoD clause in the next meeting scheduled to be held this week.
Manmohan Sharma, general secretary, HPCA, told TOI that the new clause, if implemented, would not change a thing for the cantonment residents, who have been struggling to get land ownership rights for decades.
“It’s very clear that the MoD does not want to lose control of the cantonments even after transferring the civilian areas to the respective state municipalities. But if the Army or the central govt continue to maintain control over the civilian areas even after the excision, then the condition of the residents will remain the same. Such a clause will defeat the entire purpose of the entire excision initiative,” said Sharma.
“We urge the Himachal Pradesh govt to reject this clause in its official feedback to the MoD as well as in the next meeting with the MoD officials in Delhi. Such a condition is unacceptable to the residents of the cantonments and the state govt should make it crystal clear to the MoD. We have already written to the Prime Minister’s Office with a request to withdraw the condition,” he said.
“We are also approaching the parliamentary standing committee on defence, and urge its members to look into the demand of the cantonment residents. Except for this particular condition, we agree to all the modalities of transferring civilian areas from the Army cantonments to the local municipalities. However, if the MoD does not withdraw its clause, we will start holding protest rallies in the cantonments,” Sharma added.
The MoD has called a meeting with the representatives of Himachal Pradesh on Nov 29 to discuss the progress on the excision process.
In a major shift in the excision modalities, the ministry in June this year had introduced a new condition as per which the land ownership right will remain with the Union govt even after the transfer of assets and liabilities from the Army to the state govt.
The new condition changes the MoD’s earlier held position as per which the proprietary rights over all the assets in the excised areas were to be transferred to the state govt and the respective state municipalities, free of cost.
The municipal amenities over the leased and old grant properties in the excised area were also to be transferred to the state municipalities. However, with this new condition, not only the Union govt will continue to be the owner of the land, but even the building bylaws in the transferred civilian areas will be subject to prior permission of the defence authority for carrying out any construction activity.
According to a letter written by deputy director general Arvind Kumar Dwivedi, defence estates, to the principal director, the additional modality will be a part of the excision process.
