Indian Military Academy raise security violations in upcoming mall in Dehradun, says project allowed without Army’s NOC

A proposal to construct a massive commercial mall-cum-residential complex near the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, has sparked serious alarm within defence circles. The project allegedly planned within a 500-meter radius of the highly sensitive military zone violates the security protocol and the same has been approved without seeking any NOC from Army, says letters written by the IMA to authorities at the State.

A letter addressed to the District Magistrate Dehradun written on February 4, 2026, whose copy is with The Hindu, reads that as per the 2011 orders of Government of India, Ministry of Defence, a security clearance is required from Local Military Authority (LMA) for any construction within 100-500 meters of Defence Establishment.