This Act deals with the law relating to administration of cantonments in India for greater democratisation, improvement of their financial base to make provisions for developmental activities.
Cantonments Act, 2006
[Act 41 of 2006] [13th September, 2006]
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the administration of cantonments with a view to impart greater democratisation, improvement of their financial base to make provisions for developmental activities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
Statement of Objects and Reasons.
Statement of Objects and Reasons.—The Cantonments Act, 1924 (2 of 1924) makes provisions relating to the administration of cantonments. As cantonments are Central territories under the Constitution, the civic bodies functioning in these areas are not covered under State municipal laws.
2. In view of the present day, aspirations and needs of the people residing in cantonment areas and in order to bring in modern municipal management procedures/techniques in such areas, it is proposed to enact a new legislation by replacing the Cantonments Act, 1924, to provide for—
(i) greater democratisation;
(ii) reservation of seats in Cantonment Boards for women and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes;
(iii) better financial management;
(iv) extension of centrally sponsored development schemes to such areas;
(v) management of defence lands and their audit, etc.
3. The new legislation has been modified with a view to re-enact the existing Act in the context of Seventy fourth Constitutional Amendment and to provide for better urban management in cantonments as recommended by the Standing Committee of Parliament on Defence and the Action Taken Note of the Government on their recommendations. Broadly, the proposed modifications could be categorised as under:—
(i) Greater Democratisation.—The Bill envisages enhanced representation for elected members to make proper balance between the elected and nominated one. Reservation of seats in the Cantonment Boards for women and the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes would also fall in this category. In the proposed Bill, parity has been brought between the official and elected members of the Board and with this, the number of elected members would increase. The enhanced representation for elected members will cater for increased civil population in the cantonment areas.
(ii) Land Management.—Over the years, the defence land ownership has increased to 17.31 lakh acres out of which about 2 lakh acres of such lands are situated within 62 notified cantonments being managed under the existing Act. There is no statute to cover the management of about 15 lakh acres of defence lands lying outside the cantonments. As on date, these defence lands are regulated by executive instructions (not covered under any statute) issued by the Central Government from time to time through Acquisition, Custody, Relinquishment, etc. of Military Lands in India (ACR) Rules, 1944, which are non-statutory in nature.
The Management of Cantonment Board properties and the defence lands outside the cantonments is different from each other in a sense that the former is covered under the existing Act and the Cantonment Property Rules, 1925, made thereunder, whereas, there is no such legislation or rules for the latter. The Standing Committee of Parliament (12th Lok Sabha) recommended that provisions may be made in the Cantonments Act itself regarding management of defence lands, their records, consolidation of earlier policies and land audit.
Statutory provisions have accordingly been made and a new Chapter on management of defence lands has been added in the Bill. The provisions contained in this chapter will, inter alia, enable the Central Government to notify the defence lands, consolidate land management policies and records in regard to defence lands, carry out land audits to detect abuse if any, non-utilisation and sub-optimal utilisation of lands.
The Standing Committee of Parliament has also recommended making legal provisions to tackle encroachments on defence lands situated all over the country.
Accordingly, the problem of encroachment is now proposed to be tackled through the provisions contained in Clauses 239, 248, 249, 253 and 257 of the proposed Bill. This would be in addition to the powers available to the Government under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.
(iii) Development impetus.—In addition, provisions have been made which would give necessary impetus to development activities. To keep pace with recent developments, provisions have also been made for developmental and welfare activities like town planning, old age homes, houses for disabled and destitutes, working women hostels, rain water harvesting, non-conventional energy and other miscellaneous developmental activities which are important to sustain the environment and taking steps for social development.
(iv) Resource Generation.—Provisions have been incorporated in the new Bill to streamline financial administration, improve finance base and change the tax mechanism keeping in view the needs of modern municipal administration. Provisions have also been made for a Cantonment Development Fund in which, any sum received from Government or an individual or association (by way of gift or deposit) or from centrally sponsored schemes, may be credited.
The Standing Committee of Parliament (12th Lok Sabha) had also made a recommendation for extension of centrally sponsored development schemes in cantonments for uniform development of States. Provisions in Clauses 10 and 108 of the Bill have therefore been made making every Board a ‘deemed municipality’ for the purposes of Article 243-P(e) of the Constitution. This would enable the Cantonment Boards to avail benefits and advantages of centrally sponsored schemes for social and economic development as are presently available to other municipalities in various States.
Under Article 285 of the Constitution, the properties of Central Government are exempted from all taxes imposed by local authorities in the States. Representations were received that for the services rendered by the local bodies and the financial implications involved, some payment in the form of service charges may be made to them. Consequently, the Central Government issued certain executive orders making provision for payment of service charges to local bodies since 1954.
There is no specific statutory provisions to give legal backing to the said decision/orders made by the Government in this regard from time to time. It is, therefore, proposed to make a provision in the Bill for payments to be made to the Cantonment Boards for service charges by the Central and the State Governments, after ascertaining the same.
4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objectives.
Chapter I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Cantonments Act, 2006.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.
[Editor’s Note: This Act came into force w.e.f. December 18, 2006].
2. Definitions.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—
(a) “Assistant Health Officer” means the medical officer appointed by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command, to be the Assistant Health Officer for a cantonment;
(b) “Board” means a Cantonment Board constituted under this Act;
(c) “boundary wall” means a wall which abuts on a street and which does not exceed two and a half metres in height;
(d) “building” means a house, outhouse, stable, latrine, shed, hut or other roofed structure whether of masonry, brick, wood, mud, metal or other material, and any part thereof, and includes a well and a wall other than a boundary wall but does not include a tent or other portable and temporary shelter;
(e) “casual election” means an election held to fill a casual vacancy;
(f) “casual vacancy” means a vacancy occurring otherwise than by efflux of time in the office of an elected member of a Board and includes a vacancy in such office, arising under sub-section (2) of Section 16;
(g) “Chief Executive Officer” means the person appointed under this Act to be the Chief Executive Officer of a cantonment;
(h) “civil area” means an area declared to be a civil area by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of Section 46;
(i) “civil area committee” means a committee appointed under Section 47;
(j) “Command” means one of the Commands into which India is for military purposes for the time being divided, and includes any area which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a Command for all or any of the purposes of this Act;
(k) “dairy” includes any farm, cattle-shed, milk-store, milk-shop or other place from which milk is supplied or in which milk is kept for purposes of sale or is manufactured for the sale into butter, ghee, cheese or curds, and, in relation to a dairyman who does not occupy any premises for the sale of milk, includes any place in which he keeps the vessels used by him for the storage or sale of milk;
(l) “dairyman” includes the keeper of a cow, buffalo, goat, ass or other animal, the milk of which is offered or is intended to be offered for sale for human consumption, and any supplier of milk and any occupier of a dairy;
(m) “dangerous disease” means cholera, leprosy, enteric fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, diphtheria, plague, influenza, venereal disease, hepatitis, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and any other epidemic, endemic, infectious or communicable disease which the Board may by public notice, declare to be, an infectious, contagious or communicable disease for the purposes of this Act;
(n) “Defence Estates Circle” means one of the circles into which India is, for the purposes of defence estates management, for the time being divided, and includes any area which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a Defence Estates Circle for all or any of the purposes of this Act;
(o) “Defence Estates Officer” means the officer appointed by the Central Government to perform the duties of the Defence Estates Officer for the purpose of this Act and the rules made thereunder;
(p) “Director General” means an officer of the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) appointed by the Central Government to perform the duties of the Director General, Defence Estates for the purpose of this Act and includes Senior Additional Director General and Additional Director General;
(q) “Director” means the officer appointed by the Central Government to perform the duties of the Director, Defence Estates, the Command, for the purposes of this Act and the rules made thereunder;
(r) “entitled consumer” means a person in a cantonment who is paid from the Defence Service Estimates and is authorised by general or special order of the Central Government to receive a supply of water for domestic purposes from the Military Engineer Services or the Public Works Department on such terms and conditions as may be specified in the order;
(s) “Executive Engineer” means the officer of the Military Engineer Services of that grade, having charge of the military works in a cantonment or where more than one such officer has charge of the military works in a cantonment such one of those officers as the Officer Commanding the station may designate in this behalf, and includes the officer of whatever grade in immediate executive engineering charge of a cantonment;
(t) “factory” means a factory as defined in clause (m) of Section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 (63 of 1948);
(u) “Forces” means the regular Army, Navy and Air Force or any part of any one or more of them;
(v) “General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command” (GOC-in-C, Command) means the Officer Commanding any of the Commands;
(w) “General Officer Commanding the Area” means the Officer Commanding any one of the areas into which India is for military purposes for the time being divided, or any sub-area which does not form part of any such area, or any area which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be an area for all or any of the purposes of this Act;
(x) “Group Housing” means a group of houses for dwelling purposes and may comprise all or any of the following: namely, (a) a dwelling unit, (b) open spaces intended for recreation and ventilation, (c) roads, paths, sewers, drains, water supply and ancillary installations, street lighting and other amenities, (d) convenient shopping place, schools, community hall or other amenities for common use;
(y) “Government” in relation to this Act means the Central Government;
(z) “Health Officer” means the senior executive medical officer in military employ on duty in a cantonment;
(za) “hospital” includes family welfare centre, child welfare centre, maternity centre and health centre;
(zb) “hut” means any building, no material portion of which above the plinth level is constructed of masonry or of squared timber framing or of iron framing;
(zc) “inhabitant”, in relation to a cantonment, or local area means any person ordinarily residing or carrying on business or owning or occupying immovable property therein, or declared as such by the Chief Executive Officer and in case of a dispute, as decided by the District Magistrate;
(zd) “intoxicating drug” includes a narcotic drug and psychotropic substance as defined in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) as modified from time to time;
(ze) “market” includes any place where persons assemble for the sale of, or for the purpose of exposing for sales, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, animals intended for human food or any other articles of human food whatsoever, with or without the consent of the owner of such place notwithstanding that there may be no common regulation for the concourse of buyers and sellers and whether or not any control is exercised over the business of, or the persons frequenting, the market by the owner of the place or by any other person, but shall not include a single shop or group of shops not being more than six in number and shops within unit lines;
(zf) “military” includes Air Force, Navy and other defence related establishments;
(zg) “military officer” means a person who, being an officer within the meaning of the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957) or the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), is commissioned, gazetted or in pay as an officer doing army, naval or air force duty with the army, navy or air force, or is an officer doing such duty in any arm, branch or part of any of those forces;
(zh) “nuisance” includes any act, omission, place, animal or thing which causes or is likely to cause injury, danger, annoyance or offence to the sense of sight, smell or hearing or disturbance to rest or sleep, or which is or may be dangerous to life or injurious to health or property;
(zi) “occupier” includes an owner in occupation of, or otherwise using his own land or building;
(zj) “Officer Commanding the station or Station Commander” means the military officer for the time being in command of the forces in a cantonment and if such officer is likely to be absent for more than thirty days, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, the Command may nominate, by an order, another military officer as “Officer Commanding the station or Station Commander”;
(zk) “ordinary election” means an election held to fill a vacancy in the office of an elected member of a Board arising by efflux of time;
(zl) “owner” includes any person who is receiving or is entitled to receive the rent of any building or land whether on his own account or on behalf of himself and others or an agent or trustee, or who would so receive the rent or be entitled to receive it if the building or land were let to a tenant;
(zm) “party wall” means a wall forming part of a building and used or constructed to be used for the support or separation of adjoining buildings belonging to different owners, or constructed or adapted to be occupied by different persons;
(zn) “Principal Director” means the Officer appointed by the Central Government to perform the duties of the Principal Director, Defence Estates, the Command for the purpose of this Act and the rules made thereunder;
(zo) “private market” means a market which is not maintained by a Board and which is licensed by a Board under the provisions of this Act;
(zp) “private slaughter-house” means a slaughter-house which is not maintained by a Board and which is licensed by a Board under the provisions of this Act;
(zq) “public market” means a market maintained by a Board;
(zr) “public place” means any place which is open to the use and enjoyment of the public, whether it is actually used or enjoyed by the public or not;
(zs) “public slaughter-house” means a slaughter-house maintained by a Board;
(zt) “resident”, in relation to a cantonment, means a person who maintains therein a house or a portion of a house which is at all times available for occupation by himself or his family even though he may himself reside elsewhere, provided that he has not abandoned all intention of again occupying such house either by himself or his family;
(zu) “regulation” means a regulation made by a Cantonment Board under this Act by notification in the Official Gazette;
(zv) “rule” means a rule made by the Central Government under this Act by notification in the Official Gazette;
(zw) “shed” means a slight or temporary structure for shade or shelter;
(zx) “slaughter-house” means any place ordinarily used for the slaughter of animals for the purpose of selling the flesh thereof for human consumption;
(zy) “soldier” means any person who is a soldier or sailor or an airman subject to the Army Act, 1950 (46 of 1950), the Navy Act, 1957 (62 of 1957) or the Air Force Act, 1950 (45 of 1950), as the case may be, and who is not a military officer;
(zz) “spirituous liquor” means any fermented liquor, any wine, or any alcoholic liquid obtained by distillation or the sap of any kind of palm tree, and includes any other liquid containing alcohol which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a spirituous liquor for the purposes of this Act;
(zza) “street” includes any way, road, lane, square, court, alley or passage in a cantonment, whether a thoroughfare or not and whether built upon or not, over which the public have a right of way and also the road-way or foot-way over any bridge or cause way;
(zzb) “sub-area” means one of the sub-areas into which India is for military purposes for the time being divided and includes, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, any territory which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a sub-area for such purposes;
(zzc) “trade or commercial premises” means any premises used or intended to be used for carrying on any trade, commerce or industry;
(zzd) “vehicle” means a wheeled conveyance of any description which is capable of being used on a street, and includes a motor-car, motor lorry, motor omnibus, cart, locomotive, tram-car, hand-cart, truck, motor-cycle, bicycle, tricycle and rickshaw;
(zze) “water-works” includes all lakes, tanks, streams, cisterns, springs, pumps, wells, reservoirs, aqueducts, water-trucks, sluices mains, pipes, culverts, hydrants, stand-pipes, and conduits and all machinery, lands, buildings, bridges and things used for, or intended for the purpose of supplying water to a cantonment; and
(zzf) “year” means the year commencing on the first day of April.
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