Context:
Recently, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has proposed to excise civil areas in 58 cantonments, with plans to merge them with State municipalities.
Relevance:
GS II: Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Cantonment Board
- Composition
- Classification
Cantonment Board:
- It is an organization responsible for administering and managing civilian populations living in cantonment areas.
- Operates under the provisions of the Cantonment Act of 2006 and is under the jurisdiction of the Union Defence Ministry.
- The board consists of elected representatives, ex-officio members, and nominated members as per the Cantonments Act, 2006.
Composition:
- Eight elected members
- Three nominated military members
- Three ex-officio members (station commander, garrison engineer, senior executive medical officer)
- One representative of the district magistrate
- The station commander of the cantonment is the ex-officio president of the board.
- An officer from the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) or Defence Estates Organisation serves as the chief executive officer and member-secretary of the board.
- The boards have a five-year term.
Classification:
- Category I: Population above 50,000
- Category II: Population between 10,000 and 50,000
- Category III: Population between 2,500 and 10,000
- Category IV: Population below 2,500
- India has a total of 66 cantonment boards.
- Cantonment differs from a military station, as the former includes both military and civilian populations, whereas the latter is exclusively for military personnel and is established under executive orders.
-Source: The Hindu
