Panel formed to merge Cantt areas with SMB

SHILLONG, March 14: The Meghalaya government has questioned the excision of civil areas of the Shillong Cantonment Board and status of the merger of these areas with the Shillong Municipal Board.
The CEO of the Shillong Cantonment Board, Ayush Maurya, stated that a committee has been appointed and the excision is a pan-India exercise.
The Cantonment Board is currently holding consultations with the state government over the merger plans, and the state government has raised queries about the fate of lease holders and employees post-merger.
The committee, which includes stakeholders like the Cantonment Board, Ministry of Defence, and the state government, is deliberating on various aspects of the merger before reaching a decision.
The Shillong Cantonment Board, established in 1885, currently has 14 members, including seven elected members. The Cantonment Board has control of 491 acres of land with a population of 11,919 as per the 2011 Census.
Civilian residents of cantonments do not get any benefits of state welfare schemes since they are governed by Cantonment Boards through the Defence Estates Department of the Ministry of Defence.