Defence Ministry Preparing To Sell Its Thousands Of Acres Vacant Land
New Delhi, 31st May 2021: Many pieces of the Defence Ministry’s land are not being used these days. The ministry is preparing to sell its thousands of acres of land. Initiatives have been started for this.
A letter has been sent to concerned departments including the three Armed Forces, DRDO, Coast Guard, and Ordnance Factory Board, to find out how much land is needed for them in the last two decades.
A letter from the defence ministry sent on May 6 said the remaining land could be compiled within three months and attached to the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE). This letter is based on the decision of the Ministry of Defence to act on the recommendations of the Sumit Bose Committee.
The former Revenue Secretary to the Government of India had submitted a report in December 2017 with 131 recommendations. The Bose Committee’s recommendation, after a study by the Ministry of Defence, is classified under three categories.
Some of these requisite remaining lands are old British time camping grounds that were used to continue long expeditions. On some grounds are old unused airports established in World War II (1939-1945). Some lands now fall within civilian areas. Only a small part of it is for military purposes. Some of the lands are near armament factories.
The Ministry of Defence is considering identifying two categories of vacant land. The first category is A-2 and the second is B-4. The Cantonment Land Administration Rules, 1937 have benchmarked all lands according to their use, location and future expansion. Class A-2 land is not used or occupied by military officers but is used temporarily. Class B-4 land is that which is not included in any other class of land.
The letter sent by the MoD on May 6 states that it has been decided to implement a section of the Bose Committee’s recommendations regarding vacant land and use of defence land.
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