Dhami seeks dissolution of Ranikhet, Lansdowne Cantonments

By Our Staff Reporter 
New Delhi, 1 July : Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met with Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi and requested to dissolve the Cantonment Boards in Ranikhet and Lansdowne and transfer the areas outside the military stations to the state administration.

The Chief Minister welcomed the decision to dissolve the Cantonment Boards at Yol in Himachal Pradesh and merge the civil areas of the Cantonments with the Municipalities and re-designate the Cantonments as Military Stations.

He said that Ranikhet and Lansdowne were not strategic cantonments, so they should be disbanded on priority. Dissolution of Cantonment Boards and transfer of civil areas in these cities to local municipalities/district administration will benefit the local population. It will also help in unlocking the tourism potential of the city.
Dhami expressed gratitude for recommending the opening of an ECHS center for ex-servicemen and their dependents in the Rudraprayag district of the state. He also requested to open a CSD canteen for ex-servicemen and their dependents on the premises of this ECHS polyclinic.

CM requested to transfer 4 acres of NRTO land for the expansion of Jolly Grant Airport. The state government is ready to provide alternative land to NRTO.

He requested the Union Defence Minister to allow the State Government to use Joshimath and Dharchula Army helipads for operating Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) services.

Dhami has given about one acre of B-3 Defense located in the cantonment as an alternative due to the evacuation of the sub-office being run under a temporary arrangement on the land provided on lease by the Uttarakhand Sub Area in Garhi Cantt, Cantonment Complex, Dehradun. It was also requested to consider shifting the sub-panel office on the land.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh assured Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of all possible cooperation.