DEHRADUN: The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has denied a building permit for a commercial project near the Indian Military Academy (IMA) due to security concerns highlighted by the army.
On April 15, the authority issued a rejection letter to builder Shivam Aggarwal after he failed to secure a required no-objection certificate from the IMA for the mixed-use building located in Panditwari.
The MDDA noted that the builder was initially given two months to obtain the clearance, but he did not manage to do so.
Internal communication from the Station Headquarters, Dehradun Cantt, dated February 2026, indicated that a “security violation” alert was issued by the IMA following ads for the “Doon Curve” project.
Military officials stated that the construction site is within a high-security area. According to defense ministry guidelines from May 18, 2011, any construction within 100 meters of a military establishment necessitates prior security clearance from the local military authority.
The guidelines prohibit one-storey buildings within 100 meters and four-storey structures within 500 meters of defense property. In correspondence to the MDDA and the Dehradun District Magistrate, the IMA questioned how the project had progressed without their input.
“The proposal violates existing policy guidelines pertaining to constructions near defense land and the requirement for obtaining prior clearance/NOC from the LMA,” the IMA stated.
Additionally, the academy referenced a September 2023 MDDA directive that prohibits any housing or construction plan from being sanctioned without prior IMA clearance.
MDDA officials confirmed that the builder did not address formal objections raised by the IMA in letters dated February 3 and 4, 2026.
“For the aforementioned reasons, we cannot consider your application for construction permits; hence, your building map has been rejected,” the authority stated in the rejection letter.
