CHENNAI: Employees of existing cantonment boards are concerned over their job security and livelihood after the Ministry of Defence announced plans to abolish the boards and merge them with nearby municipalities. Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, in a recent statement during the parliamentary session, said that the proposed modalities have been shared with the state governments for their feedback.
C Srikumar, South Zone president of All India Cantonment Employees Federation, told TNIE, “There are 62 cantonment boards in the country. Of them, two cantonment boards such as St Thomas Mount cum Pallavaram and Wellington are functioning in Tamil Nadu. Around 50,000 people are living and hundreds of employees are working in the cantonment boards. The decision was taken without consulting stakeholders, residents and employees of cantonment boards. This move to abolish the boards and merge them with nearby municipalities means several crores worth of assets are to be transferred from the boards to the state government. “
An employee on condition of anonymity told TNIE that the service conditions of cantonment board employees are different from government employees. “We are in fear of losing jobs by merging the board with nearby municipalities. It is evident from the fact, the Kashyal Cantonment Board which was recently merged with the Himachal Pradesh state government, the service contract of the teachers of the cantonments were terminated.
The job contracts of the conservancy employees have also been terminated.” Rajesh Kumar, a resident of the St Thomas Mount cum Pallavaram Cantonment Board, expressed concern over losing dedicated healthcare services provided by two hospitals and educational services offered by six schools. He emphasized that these services are better than state government-run institutions, and the merger could jeopardize these facilities. He urged the ministry to reconsider the decision and hold consultations with stakeholders before finalizing any action.