There is no single ‘Army NOC’. Inside a cantonment, the Cantonment Board or its Chief Executive Officer sanctions your plan. Outside it, near an Army establishment, the Station Commander’s view goes to your municipal body through the NOC from the Local Military Authority route.
Which route applies depends on where your plot sits: inside notified cantonment limits, outside them but near an Army establishment, or near an airfield as well. This page explains each route, the parts of the Cantonments Act, 2006 that matter, how the Ministry of Defence guidelines apply near Army stations, and what is changing as cantonments are restructured. It is one part of our guide to defence NOC in India. Sources were last checked in October 2026.
Which route applies to your plot?
| Where is your plot? | What applies | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Inside a cantonment, outside its civil area | Building sanction under Section 234 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 | The Cantonment Board |
| Inside a cantonment’s civil area | Building sanction under Sections 234 and 237 | The Board’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) |
| In an area that has been excised from a cantonment and merged with a municipality (reported for some cantonments) | The municipality’s building rules, plus any defence consultation they require | The municipal authority |
| Outside a cantonment, near an Army depot, station or camp | The Local Military Authority’s view under Ministry of Defence guidelines, usually through the municipal body | Station Commander, via the municipal authority |
| Near a military airfield (IAF, Navy, Coast Guard or HAL) | A defence height clearance | An authoris |
What is a cantonment, and who runs it?
A cantonment is a permanent military station area administered under the Cantonments Act, 2006 by a Cantonment Board. Before the current restructuring there were 62 notified cantonments. A Board includes the officer commanding the station and the Chief Executive Officer, who runs day-to-day administration. Defence Estates Officers manage defence land.
Land inside a cantonment can be held in different ways, and the Act treats them differently when a plan is sanctioned: land under the Defence Estates Officer’s management, land held on lease from the Government, and land entrusted to the Board’s management.
Building inside a cantonment: how sanction works
Chapter X of the Cantonments Act, 2006 controls building in a cantonment. These are the points that matter most, as the Act reads in the text we checked.
| Step | What the Act says | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Sanction | Nobody may erect or re-erect a building without previous sanction: from the Board outside the civil area, from the CEO in a civil area | 234, 237 |
| Notice | Give written notice. Material alterations and enlargements, and changes that increase or reduce height or area, count as erecting | 235 |
| Valid notice | It must state the purpose of the building, and is not valid until the information, plans and undertakings required by the bye-laws are furnished to the CEO’s satisfaction | 236 |
| Land check | For land under the Defence Estates Officer’s management, the Board must refer the application to the Officer, who reports within 30 days on any Government objection | 238(3) |
| Conditions | The Board can sanction subject to written directions, including on the number and height of storeys, or refuse on sufficient grounds | 238(1), (2) |
| Refusal grounds | For example a breach of a lease, a breach of the terms on which land is entrusted to the Board, or a dispute with the Government over the right to build. Reasons must be given in writing | 238(4), (5) |
| Deemed sanction | If the Board does nothing for one month after a valid notice, you can remind it by registered post. If the omission continues for another 15 days, sanction is deemed given. Where the land was referred to the Defence Estates Officer, the month runs from the Board’s receipt of the report | 238(6) |
| Validity and completion | Sanction lapses if work does not begin within two years unless extended. The Board sets a completion period, with at most two extensions of one year each | 243, 245 |
| Completion | Give notice within 30 days of completion. The CEO inspects and issues a completion certificate; the building must not be occupied for habitation without it. It is deemed granted if refusal is not communicated within 30 days | 242, 246 |
| Illegal erection | Building without a valid notice, or before sanction, is punishable with a fine of up to Rs 50,000 plus the cost of sealing and demolition. The CEO can order work to stop and seal the premises | 247, 239, 248, 249 |
| Boundary walls | A boundary wall, hedge or fence needs the CEO’s written permission | 261 |
| Higher-level control | The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Command can sanction a general scheme restricting the erection of buildings, and can suspend a Board’s sanction | 240, 247, 248 |
| Challenging an order | Courts will not entertain proceedings on an order or notice unless an appeal under Section 340 has been filed and decided | 250 |
Where is the Army’s view in all this? In the sections we read, sanction inside a cantonment runs through the Board, the Defence Estates Officer’s land report and the Command’s powers, not through a separate ‘Army NOC’ application. The Ministry’s own NOC circulars say they do not apply where construction is regulated by the Cantonments Act. The Board’s building bye-laws add the details, such as plans, undertakings and fees, so get the bye-laws and checklist from the Board before you design.
Building outside a cantonment, near an Army establishment
Here the Ministry of Defence guidelines apply. The Station Commander gives views to the municipal or state authority, not to you; our guide to the NOC from the Local Military Authority sets out the process and the full timeline. The numbers that matter for Army establishments are in the circulars:
- 18 May 2011: the Local Military Authority could raise a security concern within 100 m of an establishment, or 500 m for buildings above four storeys.
- 21 October 2016: for 193 stations listed in Part A, restrictions apply up to 10 m from the outer wall, and construction or repair in that strip needs a prior NOC from the Local Military Authority. For 149 stations listed in Part B, restrictions apply up to 100 m: no construction within 50 m, a 3 m (one storey) height limit from 50 m to 100 m, and a prior NOC for work in that band. Where municipal laws require consultation or an NOC from the Station Commander, those requirements continue.
A 2019 Lok Sabha reply reported by PTI said the 2016 lists identified only Army establishments. Court records show that the Ordnance Depots at Alipore in Kolkata and Shakur Basti in Delhi are listed in Part A.
Which circular applies to your plot today is contested. A later circular of 23 December 2022 was kept in abeyance in February 2023, and the Bombay High Court judgment of 5 May 2026 treated the 2022 circular as having replaced the earlier ones, while other courts have applied the 2011 or 2016 guidelines. Confirm the current position with your planning authority and the Station Commander’s office.
Court decisions involving Army establishments show how differently these cases can go:
| Case | What happened |
|---|---|
| Ordnance Depot, Alipore, Kolkata (Calcutta High Court, 1 Dec 2023; read the judgment, which reproduces the 2011 and 2016 circulars) | The depot challenged a G+40 high-rise about 14 m from its outer wall. The court read the 2016 circular as limiting Part A restrictions to 10 m and dismissed the appeal. The Ministry had told the court the 2016 guidelines were under review |
| Ordnance Depot, Shakur Basti, Delhi (Delhi High Court Division Bench) | As quoted in the Calcutta judgment, the court held that beyond 10 m of a Part A establishment the 2016 circular imposed no height restriction |
| Saraf Infra Projects v State of West Bengal (Supreme Court order, 28 Nov 2018) | The Court directed an occupation certificate where the building was beyond 10 m of a military compound’s outer wall, noting the 2016 guidelines |
| Station HQ Kamptee v Nagpur Municipal Corporation (Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench, 11 Oct 2024) | The Army challenged a G+28, 108.7 m building said to be within 500 m of a defence establishment. As summarised by a legal database, the court treated the NOC guidelines as administrative instructions without statutory force, noted the building was complete and occupied, and dismissed the petition |
Each case turned on its facts and on which circular was applied. They are not a promise for your plot.
When another clearance applies as well
- A military airfield is nearby. A defence height clearance is separate from any cantonment or establishment process. See the defence IAF height clearance NOC guide and our comparison of defence NOC vs AAI NOC.
- A civil airport is nearby. AAI’s height NOC may apply. Start with our AAI NOC required checklist and the airport NOC survey services in India page.
- You are building a tower, mast or overhead line rather than a building. Aviation clearance can apply near airports. See transmission line and tower AAI NOC and the mobile tower airport NOC rules. The Cantonment Board or municipality decides what else you need on the ground.
Cantonments are changing
The Ministry of Defence has been restructuring cantonments. Khas Yol in Himachal Pradesh was the first to be de-notified, with its military area becoming a military station and its civil area merging with the municipality. Draft excision notifications for ten more were reported, including Dehradun, Deolali, Nasirabad, Babina, Ajmer, Ramgarh, Mathura, Shahjahanpur, Clement Town and Fatehgarh. A recent Tribune report said excision had been completed in six cantonments apart from Khas Yol, and that elections of civilian Board members have been on hold since 2022, with terms extended.
For you this means the body that sanctions plans for your plot may have changed, or may change during your project. Ask the Cantonment Board and the municipality which of them holds jurisdiction before you apply.
How to find out which route applies to your plot
- Confirm whether the plot is inside notified cantonment limits, and whether it is in the civil area or has been excised. The Cantonment Board’s CEO or the Defence Estates Officer can tell you.
- Ask how the land is held: under the Defence Estates Officer’s management, on a Government lease, or entrusted to the Board. This decides whether the Officer’s report is needed.
- Get the Board’s building bye-laws and application checklist if the plot is inside a cantonment.
- If the plot is outside, ask your municipal authority in writing whether plan approval involves the Station Commander, and which circular it relies on.
- Get a ground-surveyed distance from your plot boundary to the nearest boundary of every unit of the Army establishment, not a web-map estimate.
- Record storeys, height and the date of any earlier sanction. Older guidelines exempted permissions issued before 18 May 2011, except later height amendments.
- Keep written confirmation from the authority before design and again before construction starts.
- Take legal advice if your plot is close or the answers conflict.
What a survey adds, and what it cannot do
A licensed survey gives measured facts that either authority can check: your plot boundary, corner coordinates, site elevation, the distance to the establishment or cantonment boundary, and the positions and heights of nearby buildings. Our cadastral and land survey, DGPS survey and total station survey teams capture this and prepare it in the format your authority asks for. If an airfield is also involved, the data usually includes a WGS-84 coordinates certificate for NOC and a site elevation survey.
We cannot certify defence-land boundaries, issue sanctions or NOCs, decide which circular applies, or guarantee an outcome or timeline. The Cantonment Board, the Defence Estates Officer, the Station Commander and your planning authority make those decisions. To find out what data to prepare, talk to our survey team with your plot location.
Related defence NOC guides and city pages
- Defence NOC in India: the overview of both defence clearances.
- NOC from the Local Military Authority for construction: circulars, timeline and court rulings.
- Defence NOC vs AAI NOC: which clearance applies near airports and airfields.
- Defence IAF height clearance NOC: clearances near military airfields.
Cantonments sit in or near several cities where we work, including Pune, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Delhi and Kamptee near Nagpur. See our pages for Pune, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Nagpur and Delhi NCR.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a single Army NOC for construction near a cantonment?
No. Inside a cantonment, a building plan is sanctioned by the Cantonment Board, or by its Chief Executive Officer in a civil area, under the Cantonments Act, 2006. Outside it, the Local Military Authority’s view reaches your municipal authority under Ministry of Defence guidelines.
Who sanctions a building plan inside a cantonment?
The Cantonment Board sanctions plans outside the civil area, and the Chief Executive Officer sanctions them in a civil area. Where the land is under the Defence Estates Officer’s management, the Board must first refer the application to the Officer, who reports within 30 days.
Do I need the Station Commander's NOC inside a cantonment?
The Act’s sanction process runs through the Board and the CEO. The Ministry of Defence’s NOC circulars say they do not apply where construction is regulated by the Cantonments Act. Ask the Board for its checklist, because bye-laws and local practice add requirements.
How long does Cantonment Board sanction take?
We found no published average. The Act provides that if the Board does nothing for one month after a valid notice and a registered-post reminder, sanction is deemed given after a further 15 days. Where the land was referred to the Defence Estates Officer, the one month runs from the Board’s receipt of the report.
What happens if I build without sanction in a cantonment?
Building without a valid notice, or before sanction, is punishable under Section 247 with a fine of up to Rs 50,000 plus the cost of sealing and demolition. The CEO can also order work to stop and seal the premises.
What distance from an Army establishment needs an NOC?
There is no single figure. Circulars have used 100 m (500 m for buildings above four storeys) in 2011, and in 2016 10 m for 193 listed stations and 50 to 100 m for 149 others. A December 2022 circular was later put in abeyance. Confirm the circular currently applied by the Local Military Authority.
Can the Army stop a building near its depot after approval?
Outcomes differ. Courts have dismissed Army challenges where the 2016 limits were met or the building was complete, and the Bombay High Court has also ruled against late NOC demands. Do not assume either result. Get the authority’s position in writing before you build.
Are cantonment civil areas being merged with municipalities?
In some cantonments, yes. Khas Yol was the first to be de-notified, and excision has been reported for others. Check with the Cantonment Board and the municipality which of them handles building sanction for your plot.