The Military Lands and Cantonments Department (ML&C) is an executive department of the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

in Pakistan. Its mission is to ensure pro-people, effective local governance in cantonments and effective defense land management. Across Pakistan, there are 11 Military Estate (ME) circles and 44

cantonments A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

covering 306,341 acres of land. According to the 2017 census, about 4.7 million people live in cantonments.

History

The Cantonment Act of 1924, originally implemented during the

British colonial period The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

, was abolished by the Government of India shortly after gaining independence from British rule. Nevertheless, in Pakistan, this change took 76 years to occur. An amendment to Section 2 of the Cantonment Act of 1924 has resulted in an extension of the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board.

Post-amendment changes

The Cantonment Act of 2023 is now in effect nationwide, encompassing the

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

and

Chaklala Cantonment Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It covers an area of (8,405 acres). The population of the town is 333,115 according to the 2023 census. Chaklala Cantonment is one of the three components of Raw ...

Boards. This update broadens their authority, permitting them to utilize excess land for various purposes, such as commercial and residential use. This expansion of the Cantonment Board's jurisdiction is made possible by an amendment to Section 2 of the 1924 Cantonment Act. According to the Cantonment Act of 2023, a new body known as the Directorate of Military Land and Cantonment is set to be formed. The main office for this directorate will be situated in either

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, with additional regional offices to be established nationwide. A Major General from the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

will be appointed as the Director General of the Directorate General of Military Land and Cantonment for an initial two-year term, which could be extended at the discretion of the Federal Government.

Regional headquarters

Military Lands and Cantonments have six regions that cover the whole country including Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir. Each region is supervised by the Director, a BS-20 Officer of ML&C Dept. Major functions of Director ML&C Deptt are: - Macro Managers at Regional Level - Competent Financial Authority for approval of Cantonments Budget - Exercise delegated powers related to recruitment, land and municipal management * RHQ Peshawar * RHQ Rawalpindi * RHQ Lahore * RHQ Multan * RHQ Karachi * RHQ Quetta

Field Offices

- ME Circle Peshawar - ME Circle Kohat - ME Circle Abbottabad - ME Circle Rawalpindi - ME Circle Gujranwala - ME Circle Lahore - ME Circle Sargodha - ME Circle Multan - ME Circle Hyderabad - ME Circle Karachi - ME Circle Quetta

Controversies

Director general post

The continuous appointment of military officers serving since 1999 as civilian cadre of the Director General (DG) Military Lands and Cantonments is in violation of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

's June 2013 judgment.

Commercial usage of land

In November 2021, the

observed that the conversion of Cantonment Boards' lands for private purposes is against the Cantonment Boards Act and its Land Administration Rules. Stating that the land reserved for COD and airport purposes cannot be allowed to run marriage halls.

References

External links

* – official website * https://www.mlc.gov.pk/me-circles ME Circles List {{Pakistan Army template Cantonments of Pakistan Pakistan Army Military of Pakistan Cantonments Real estate in Pakistan Land management