It said the first cantonment to be renamed a military station is Yol in Himachal Pradesh, with Secunderabad and Nasirabad among the cantonments set to shrink.

“Not all cantonments will become military stations as some army and civilian pockets are intertwined. The move will benefit civilians who were not getting access to state government welfare schemes and enable the army to focus more on developing military stations,” the report said.

The Indian Army is set to have fewer cantonments, created during the British era, with the government embarking on a major drive to merge civil areas at these army bases with municipal corporations and municipalities, and designate the cantonments as military stations, officials familiar with the development said on Monday.

Yol in Himachal Pradesh is the first cantonment to shed the colonial tag and be renamed as a “military station”, said one of those officials, asking not to be named.

The development comes at a time when the army is reviewing British-era practices in consultation with all stakeholders, including the top brass.

With Yol out of the list, the army currently has 61 cantonments spread across the country. Secunderabad in Telangana and Nasirabad in Rajasthan are among the cantonments that are set to shrink and become military stations with their civilian areas being merged with the local civic governing bodies, another official said, also asking not to be named.

“To be sure, not all cantonments are likely to become military stations as the army and civilian pockets are intertwined and that may not permit segregation, the officials said citing Delhi and Lucknow cantonments,” the report said.

Published in Dawn, May 4t