The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) has rejected the building permission for a proposed commercial project near the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun after security concerns were raised by the Army.
The MDDA sent a rejection letter to builder Shivam Aggarwal on April 15 after he failed to obtain the mandatory no-objection certificate (NOC) from the IMA for the proposed mixed-use building in the Panditwari area of the city.
Officials said the MDDA had earlier given the builder a two-month deadline to secure the required security clearance. However, the builder did not submit the NOC within the stipulated time.
Internal communication from Station Headquarters, Dehradun Cantt, dated February 2026, showed that the IMA raised a security violation alert after advertisements for the “Doon Curve” project came to its notice.
Military authorities stated that the construction site falls within a high-security and sensitive zone. As per Defence Ministry guidelines issued on May 18, 2011, any construction within 100 metres of a defence establishment requires prior security clearance from the local military authority.
The policy also prohibits single-storey constructions within 100 metres and four-storey buildings within 500 metres of defence land. In its letter to the MDDA and the Dehradun District Magistrate, the IMA questioned how the project was processed initially without its review.
"The proposal is in contravention to the existing policy guidelines, particularly those related to constructions in proximity to defence land and the mandatory requirement of obtaining prior clearance/NOC from the LMA," the IMA said in its observation.
The academy also referred to a September 2023 directive issued by the MDDA stating that no building plan should be sanctioned without prior clearance from the IMA. As per MDDA officials, the builder failed to address the objections raised by the IMA in letters dated February 3 and February 4, 2026.
“For the above-mentioned reasons, it is not possible to consider your application towards construction permits; therefore, your building map is rejected,” the authority said in its official communication to the builder.
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