The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has rejected the Himachal Pradesh government's request for the transfer of ownership rights of civilian land proposed to be excised in six state cantonments. This response, coming almost one-and-a-half years after the state government disagreed with the MoD's land ownership condition, is a major blow to thousands of residents.
Residents living in Kasauli, Dagshai, and Subathu in Solan district; Jutogh in Shimla district; and Bakloh and Dalhousie in Chamba district reside under a colonial-era old grant system. Under this system, the government is the sole owner of the land, and the people have only occupancy rights.
In a letter dated May 6, Yogesh Kumar, Director of Defence Estates, Western Command, Chandigarh, informed Devesh Kumar, Principal Secretary of the Department of Urban Development, that "the request for transfer of ownership of vacant land and built-up area in the cantonments cannot be agreed to." The ownership, whether old grant or leased out, would be retained by the MoD, the letter added.
The MoD also rejected the state government's request for a special financial grant to manage increased establishment expenditure. The MoD argued that municipal bodies would instead gain additional revenue through taxation and application of building bylaws in the excised areas. The MoD said the Central Finance Commission already provides grants to the cantonment boards through state governments.
Regarding personnel, the MoD clarified that while the state government would handle the pension responsibility of cantonment board employees after the proposed transfer, the ministry would continue to pay for the pensions of existing pensioners.
Manmohan Sharma, General Secretary of the Himachal Pradesh Cantonment Association (HPCA), an umbrella body of the state cantonments that has been campaigning for the transfer of civilian areas of cantonments, said the entire purpose of excision would be defeated if land rights were not transferred. "We urge the Prime Minister to take cognisance of how the MoD is behaving in the matter of excision, a task that was assigned to it on the representation of the HP Cantonment Association in October 2020," Sharma said.
Background of the Excision Process
Following demands from residents, the MoD kickstarted the excision process in May 2022. According to the initial modalities, the MoD was to transfer the land ownership rights of the civilian areas to the state government. However, on June 24, 2024, the MoD introduced a new clause that allowed it to retain control of the land rights even after the transfer.
As the cantonment residents protested against the new "dual ownership" excision condition, the Himachal Pradesh government wrote to the MoD in November 2024, requesting it to transfer civilian area land and its title rights to the state during the proposed excision. The state government also demanded grant-in-aid from the MoD as "the transferred liabilities of the cantonment boards (Rs 30 crore) would be six times higher than the revenue generated from the boards (Rs 5 crore)."
Timeline of Key Events
- May 23, 2022: The MoD kickstarts the excision process, writes to state governments, asking their views on transferring civilian areas from cantonments to neighbouring municipal bodies.
- April 28, 2023: Khasyol cantonment in Kangra district becomes the first in the country to be de-notified.
- July 31, 2023: The MoD orders setting up an eight-member committee to deliberate excision process for the six cantonments of Himachal.
- November 16, 2023: Himachal government forms a 14-member committee to conduct a joint survey in all six cantonments, whose civil areas are to be excised.
- January 9, 2024: All six cantonments send their joint survey reports to the Town and Country Planning Department.
- June 25, 2024: A new land ownership clause is introduced by the MoD during a meeting then Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane holds with state representatives.
- November 27, 2024: Himachal government sends its reply to the MoD, seeking grant-in-aid and transfer of land ownership rights to the state.
- May 6, 2026: The MoD responds after more than a year and rejects the HP government's request, stating it would hold on to the land rights.
