The proposal for the Phase-II excision of the remaining 643.63 acres from the Belagavi Cantonment Board limits has once again been pushed back, with the Board deciding not to deliberate further and instead asking the State Government to pursue the matter directly with the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
According to the proceedings of the Cantonment Board meeting held on July 17, 2026, CEO Manchalwar Sudam Harivijay informed members that the office had received a letter dated July 6, 2026, from the Deputy Commissioner, Belagavi, requesting that the Phase-II excision proposal covering the remaining 643.63 acres be placed before the Board for consideration.
However, after discussion, the Board observed that it had already considered the excision proposal in line with the Directorate General Defence Estates (DGDE) guidelines dated June 28, 2024. The Board pointed out that it had approved the Phase-I proposal involving 112.687 acres at its special meeting on July 6, 2024, and its views had already been communicated to the concerned authorities.
The Board further noted that the Ministry of Defence is the competent authority to take a final decision on the State Government’s views regarding the excision process. It therefore resolved that the Government of Karnataka should take up the matter directly with the Ministry of Defence, instead of seeking a fresh opinion from the Cantonment Board.
The excision of civilian areas from the Belagavi Cantonment has been under discussion since the Defence Ministry initiated the restructuring of cantonments across the country. While the Cantonment Board initially proposed transferring only about 112 acres of the 1,763-acre cantonment area, the district administration, elected representatives and residents’ groups have consistently sought the transfer of a much larger civilian area to the Belagavi City Corporation. Subsequent discussions and joint survey proposals had also explored transferring substantially larger portions of the cantonment’s civilian areas.