India, April 24 -- The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has initiated plans to convert its 120-year-old, colonial-era, building on M G road into a revenue-generating commercial property. The proposal comes at a time when the PCB is grappling with a severe financial crunch. Unlike municipal corporations, cantonment boards depend heavily on property tax collection and grants from the ministry of defence even as expenditure on civic services continues to rise.

The two-storeyed heritage structure, which served as the PCB headquarters till 1988 and later housed the cantonment court, has remained under lock-and-key since June 2024 after court operations shifted to new premises. Located on one of Pune's busiest commercial stretches, the property is ...