What is the issue?
- Government recently ordered the opening of all roads in military cantonments.
- Families of Army officers and retired Army personnel are increasingly opposing this move.
What are military cantonments?
- Cantonments are designed as places of residence of both civilians and military personnel.
- There are nearly 6o cantonments across the country.
- Cantonment Boards are elected bodies.
- They run schools, hospitals, and vocational training centres.
- They cater to a civilian population of more than 21 lakh.
- Moreover, cantonments are notified in the gazette and governed by an Act of Parliament.
- Any change in the governance of cantonments needs an amendment to the Act by Parliament.
- This includes barring civilians from using the roads within them.
What was the problem?
- Some cantonment roads are closed for the general public.
- There were instances in which places of worship could not be reached due to closure of these routes.
- Other incidents highlighted the cemetery becoming inaccessible due to these restrictions.
- Some roads were closed by the local military authorities without following the existing procedure.
What is the government's decision?
- A government order for opening all roads in cantonments was issued.
- Also, a procedure for closing any road was also formally given by the Defence Ministry.
- It will be based on intelligence inputs and for security considerations.
- The Ministry proposes to undertake a review of the state of roads in cantonments soon.
What are the concerns?
- The major objection to the opening of roads is related to the security of military installations.
- Also, the families of Army personnel staying inside the cantonments.
- There is also a fear that the land mafia might try to encroach on defence land in the cantonments.
- Retired officers complain that the decision was taken without consulting the Army.
- The issue has suggested a deterioration of civil-military relations.
What is the government's response?
- The order was issued only after a litany of complaints to the Ministry.
- The government argues that its orders do not affect the security posture.
- This is because they do not deal with military stations but only with cantonments.
Source: Indian Express
