Cantonment A cantonment ( , , or ) is a military or police quarters . The word " cantonment " is derived from the French word " " meaning " corner " or " district " , as is the name of the Cantons of Switzerland . In South Asia , the term cantonment also describes permanent military stations . Cantonments can be found in Bangladesh , India , Pakistan , South Africa , Singapore , Malaysia , Ghana , Sri Lanka and Nepal . In United States military parlance , a cantonment is an essentially permanent residential ( i . e . barracks ) section of a fort or other military installation such as Fort Hood . The term is often abbreviated to " cantt . " Campaigning . During a campaign , cantonments are places of encampment formed by troops for a more permanent stay , or while in winter quarters . For example at the start of the Waterloo campaign in 1815 , while the Duke of Wellington ' s headquarters were in Brussels , most of his Anglo - allied army of 93 , 000 were cantoned to the south of Brussels . List of permanent cantonments . British India . Many cities in the Indian subcontinent , such as Ahmedabad , Belgaum , Mhow , Bangalore , Ambala , Kanpur , Bathinda , Delhi , Pune , Sialkot , Secunderabad , Trichy , Meerut , Ramgarh and Rawalpindi , contained large cantonments of the former British Indian Army , with Meerut and Ramgarh being the most important cantonments in North India after the headquarter at Rawalpindi . Meerut was established in 1803 and was for 150 years the biggest cantonment in the region . While in the 18th and 19th century cantonments in India were viewed as semi - permanent , by the turn of the 20th century they became permanent garrisons , and were further entrenched as such via the military reforms of Lord Kitchener in 1903 and the Cantonments Act of 1924 . Bhutan . The Indian Army maintains a training mission in Bhutan , known as the Indian Military Training Team ( IMTRAT ) , responsible for the military training of RBA and RBG personnel . [ 8 ] RBA and RBG officers are sent for training at the National Defence Academy ( NDA ) in Pune , and Indian Military Academy ( IMA ) in Dehradun . [ 9 ] Project DANTAK of the Border Roads Organisation , a sub - division of the Indian Army Corps of Engineers , has been operating in Bhutan since May 1961 . Since then Project DANTAK has been responsible for the construction and maintenance of over 1 , 500 km of roads and bridges , Paro Airport and a disused airfield at Yangphula , heliports , and other infrastructure . [ 10 ] While these serve India ' s strategic defence needs , it is also an obvious economic benefit for the people of Bhutan . [ edit ] Army aviation The Royal Bhutan Army relies on Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force for air assistance . In recent years India has helped Bhutan start to develop its military in all areas through military donations and training . [ 11 ] Indian Air Force helicopters evacuated RBA casualties to India for treatment during Operation All Clear in 2003 India . India currently has 63 cantonments in 17 different states , not including smaller ' sub - cantonments ' in the same regional area . Majority of Indian cantonments are spread across Northern , Northwestern and Northeastern India . The British Army too was positioned for threats from across India ' s northern frontiers , as when the Great Game was in play in the 19th century . The vast majority of modern Indian Army cantonments date from the British era , though all have been modernized , expanded and reconfigured to suit modern warfare , training requirements and inter - service considerations . A few have , over the decades , also been dissolved and / or combined with other cantonments . Now the Cantonment Act of 2006 has come into force . The 63 Cantonment Boards are : India Former Cantonments : Afghanistan . The former Sherpur Cantonment in Kabul , Afghanistan - site of the 1879 Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment in the Second Anglo - Afghan War - is now maintained as a British Military Cemetery . Singapore . In Singapore , the term is used to denote a Police Cantonment . United States . The term " " cantonment " " is not widely used in the United States other than on military installations .