Six cantonment boards in Maharashtra to be merged with or turned into municipal bodies

Mumbai: Six cantonment boards in Maharashtra including the Pune board will be merged with local municipal bodies or converted into new local bodies to ensure better amenities and development, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday.

The Pune and Kirkee (Khadki) cantonment boards will be merged with the Pune Municipal Corporation, while the Aurangabad cantonment will be integrated with the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation.

Deolali and Ahmednagar cantonments will be converted into independent municipal councils, and the Kamptee cantonment will be merged with the Yerkhada Nagar Panchayat (municipal council), said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

The decision was announced at a high-level meeting held at the state legislature complex.

For years, residents of cantonment areas have been demanding better civic infrastructure which is often lacking in these areas due to jurisdictional limitations, and hence the Union government took a policy decision to merge such areas with adjoining municipal corporations and councils, Fadnavis said.

Each cantonment has a unique situation, and accordingly, some will be merged with local corporations while others will be reorganized as new municipal bodies, he said.

The matters related to taxes, electricity, water supply, financial management and staff deployment in these areas will be handled as per the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Defence, Fadnavis said.

"This integration will not only ensure access to civic amenities but also pave the way for holistic development of these areas," he said.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar assured that development funds for these areas will be allocated through district planning committees. He instructed the concerned municipal bodies to submit their development proposals promptly to the respective committees, the statement said.