Cantonment officials said till the next elections are held and members are elected, a three member team will look after the functioning of the cantonment board. Express Photo The three cantonment boards of Pune, Khadki and Dehu Road have been dissolved by the Defence Ministry. The boards will cease to exist from February 11, cantonment board officials said today.
Pramod Kumar Singh, CEO of Khadki Cantonment Board said,”The Ministry has dissolved not only three cantonment boards of Pune, Khadki and Dehu Road but all other cantonment boards in the country.” There are in all 56 cantonment boards in the country. The KCB has received a letter to that effect from the Defence Ministry.
Cantonment officials said till the next elections are held and members are elected, a three member team will look after the functioning of the cantonment board. The three members will include the board president, CEO and a member of the public. “The third member will be chosen from the public. A corporator will not be a member of the team. We will go by the guidelines of the government in this respect,” Singh said.
The last elections of cantonment boards were held in January 2015. The term of the board ended in February 2020. However, due to Covid restrictions, the elections could not be held. The boards were given two extensions of 6 months each. “As per the Cantonment Act, the boards are not given third extension. The elections will have to be held now,” said Singh said.
Singh said they can’t say when the elections will be held. “We are awaiting the government guidelines in this connection. As soon as we come to know, we will let the people know about it.” A senior cantonment officials said the elections will have to be held soon as the another extension cannot be given to the boards under the Cantonment Act.