Aurangabad, Jan 20:
The five-year term of 55 cantonment boards across the country, including the Aurangabad Cantonment Board (ACB) will end on February 10. Therefore, these cantonment boards are likely to be dissolved and an administrator rule will be imposed. Since the central government has not yet announced the election program for the cantonment, the board may be restructured and a three-member committee may be appointed with a chairman, chief executive officer and a nominated representative of the people.
There are a total of 62 cantonments across the country. Of these, 55 cantonments completed their tenure in February 2020. The ministry of defence (MoD) had extended the tenure of the body of elected representatives of ACB till August 5, 2020. However, before the expiration of this term, the MoD once again issued a notification extending the tenure of all the boards till February 10, 2021. A notification issued by the ministry had said that the term of 55 cantonment boards had been extended for six months as it was not possible to hold cantonment elections due to administrative reasons. Now, the second extension given to the cantonment boards is coming to an end. Prior to that, notification of cantonment board elections must be issued 45 days in advance. However, no notification has been issued in this regard yet. As per the provisions of the Cantonment Act, the cantonment boards could not be given a third extension, so all the 55 boards would be dissolved, the sources said.
Appointment of a three-member committee
After the dissolution of the cantonment board, the government may reconstitute the board. This reconstituted board runs the cantonment until the elections are announced. The chairman, chief executive officer and a representative of the people are appointed by the government. The public representative represents the citizens of all the wards of the cantonment. Individuals wishing to represent the people apply to the cantonment boards when the central government asks for a proposal. These applications are forwarded to the office of the Directorate General, Defence Estates (DGDE), Ministry of Defense with the recommendation of the office of the DGDE Southern Command. Later, the ministry notifies the nominated public representatives for all the cantonment boards, said CEO Vikrant More.
Why elections are postponed
The Cantonment Act 2006 is being amended by the Central Government. For this, the MoD has released the draft of Cantonment Bill 2020 and the process of inviting objections has also been completed. It proposes various changes such as the right to all citizens in the cantonment to vote in the elections, and the election of vice-president from the people. Cantonment elections will be held only after these changes are implemented, sources in the cantonment said.