Defence Land Scams an update

Ministry of Defence
21-December, 2011 15:03 IST Defence Land Scams
Adarsh Housing Society and Kandivili cases are being investigated by CBI. Action shall be taken based on the recommendations of the investigation. No defence personnel has been found involved in Pune land case. Suitable action has been taken against Army personnel found involved in the Sukna land case.
It has been decided to resume Audit of defence lands which among others shall cover encroachments also.
The details of Adarsh Housing Society scam, Kandivili land scam, Pune land scam and Sukna land scam are as under:
1. Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society Case
Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society (ACHS) has constructed a multi-storied building on a land measuring approximately 3837.57 sq. mtrs, at Block VI, Colaba, Mumbai. ACHS had sought allotment of land from Government of Maharashtra for the welfare of serving and retired personnel of defence services. Prima facie, there have been irregularities and issues of concern in this regard include issue of `NOC by the Army to inter alia alienate the land in its possession in favour of ACHS; by¬passing Coastal Land Regulation Zone clearance; inclusion of civilians in the membership of the society; change of Floor Space Index; deviation from the commitments made for the welfare of defence services; disregard to security concerns of defence services etc. The Government has entrusted enquiry to CBI with a view to getting the matter thoroughly investigated and fix responsibilities.
2. Kandivili land case
As reported by Director General of Defence Estates, 13.28 acres of State Government land in village Akurli was held on hire by Army since long. In 2007, Collector, Mumbai Suburban District, allotted 5166.50 Sq Mtrs of land adjacent to Central Ordnance Depot (COD) to M/s Neo Pharma Ltd. after receiving its market value. This was objected to by COD and Defence Estates Officer (DEO) on the grounds that this formed part of Defence land on hire. Collector was also informed that COD will not permit any agency to take possession of Defence Land without approval of Ministry of Defence. However, their objections were overruled by the Collector. COD persisted with its objections and resisted handing over possession of the said land. Subsequently, at the direction of Headquarters, Southern Command, all obstacles were removed and Neo Pharma was permitted to go ahead with the planned development of the Plot.
Head Quarters Southern Command has sought that the matter be investigated at appropriate level. Army Headquarters (AHQ) recommended that the case be investigated by the CBI. After considering the matter, Government has asked AHQ to ascertain either by holding a Court of Inquiry or otherwise as to how Head Quarters Southern Command relinquished claim on the said land. The case has been investigated by a Court of Inquiry by Head Quarters Southern Command. The Court of Inquiry has been completed and case has been handed over to CBI on 30th November 2011.
3. Pune Land case
In March 2008 sanction was issued for transferring an area admeasuring 4498.56 sq. mtr. lo the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). When sanction was issued, it came to notice that while the subject land was entered in Revenue Records as `Military Line Kade’, it was not entered in the Military Lands Register of the Defence Estates Officer, Pune. There were some claimant(s) and the State Government authorities changed entry` in the Revenue records. The matter was therefore referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The case is under investigation
Corrective action has been taken and "Military Line Kade" has been restored in the Revenue records, the land has also been entered in the Military Lands Register.
4. Sukna land case
Sukna Land case pertains to land in Chumta Tea Estate neighbouring defence land and not defence land. This is a case of incorrect issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) by HQ 33 Corps. A Court of Inquiry was ordered by HQ Eastern Command to investigate the circumstances under which No Objection Certificate was allowed to be given and MoU agreed by HQ 33 Corps for land in Chumta Tea Estate. The Court of Inquiry has been finalized and suitable action taken against erring officials.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Dr. Gyan Prakash Pilania in Rajya Sabha today. HH/NN (Release ID :79106)
Defence Land Scams
CBI to probe defence land scam

Encroachments and Security of Cantonment Lands

Inquiry into NOC on IAF Land in Srinagar
On receipt of complaint a preliminary enquiry was conducted into the matter related to issuing of No Objection Certificate (NOC) on Air Force’s land in Srinagar. It was found that prima-facie there have been irregularities in the issue ofNOCs which may have wider implications. In order to get the matter thoroughly investigated and fix responsibility the Government have entrusted the enquiry to CBI.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to ShrimatiHemaMalini in Rajya Sabha today.
PK /NN (Release ID :77400)
Inquiry into NOC on IAF Land in Srinagar

Need to Amend Provision Regarding Permission of C-in-C for Transfer of Property in Cantt Areas
As per Governor General Order No.179 dated 12thSeptember, 1836, whenever a value of house, buildings or property exceeds Rs.5000/-, the sale can be effected only with the prior sanction of the Government.
Representations have been received and matter of raising the limit Rs.5000/¬- is under consideration.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written reply to Shri AvinashRaiKhanna in Rajya Sabha today. PK /NN
(Release ID :77407)
Need to Amend Provision Regarding Permission of C-in-C for Transfer of Property in Cantt Areas

Fakes take Flight at Srinagar Airport

Srinagar land scam: Over hundred acres of airfield sold
NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 23, 2011 12:32 IST
Srinagar: Shocking as it may sound, India's most security-sensitive airfield the Srinagar Air Force Station and International Airport has been on sale for four years, and till recently nobody knew about it!

NDTV has exclusive documents that show bit by bit more than 100 acres of the 2,300-acre airfield has been sold to private players by land sharks who bribed their way through the Defence Estates Office and the government's Revenue Department.

These corrupt officials cleared sale agreements in such a zone that could easily fall prey to cross-border terror; selling off pieces of an area, ironically, we are not even allowed to enter.

A R Hanjura, a lawyer, bought 1.5 acres of this land in Naaru Village in 2008. He bought it from Mrs. Fazi, who claimed to be the previous landlord, and had the papers to show for it.

Mr Hanjura says these were Revenue Department records that confirmed the land was still in Mrs Fazi's name, even though the area was being used by the Defence.

Mr Hanjura was told once the plot is his he could claim rent from the Defence.

The sale was cleared by the Defence Estates Office in Srinagar, whose permission was mandatory, since the plot fell in an area under its use.

It was also verified by the Revenue Department that it belonged to Mrs Fazi and not the Defence Ministry. Mr Hanjura bought the plot at a pittance for Rs. 20,000 which he thought to be a bargain, till he was told it was a fraudulent sale of Defence land.

According to documents with NDTV, at least 60 buyers like Mr Hanjura risked purchasing village land, right inside the airfield since 2008, hoping for a rent from the Defence.

They drew assurance from the fact that a Defence Office okayed the purchases.

"I have been deceived. I have obtained a no-objection certificate from the Defence Estates Office. That way it was perfect for me to purchase this land," said A. R. Hanjura, man who bought plot in Srinagar airfield.

NDTV has accessed many of these No-Objection Certificates, issued by the previous Defence Estates Officer Ajay Chowdhary.

It claims that the plots were neither acquired nor requisitioned nor hired by the Defence Ministry.

Blatantly contradicting these documents that show the Defence Ministry acquired this whole area, all 2,300 acres, way back in the 50s and the 60s.

The catch: Only 500 acres of these acquisitions have been updated in the revenue records of the state till today because of red tape and inefficiency in both the Defence and Revenue offices.

"The Revenue Department does not give any documents required unless they get no-objection, requisite clearance from the Defence Estates Office. Once they give no objection, that means all encumbrances are ruled out," said Rafi Ahmad Deputy Commissioner and Collector, Budgam District.

The Srinagar Defence Estates now under a new officer has challenged petitions of five buyers who demanded rent. Alternately they were asked to vacate the land.

The Defence has argued these petitions be dismissed, since the purchase of these plots is a scam. It has also stopped issuing NOCs pertaining to any land sale in the area.

This is along the lines of the Adarsh Scam in Mumbai, which exposed the collusion between Defence and government officials, trying to make a profit from sale of properties occupied by the Defence. Only in this case the stakes and dangers of such a sale are much higher.
Srinagar land scam: Over hundred acres of airfield sold

Kargil Vijay Diwas

Respected Sir/Ma'am,
The following report -- released by the United News of India news agency on July 16, 2011 -- is for your kind perusal.
With regards
Abhi

DEFENCE-KARGIL-IESM ACTIVITIES (ATTN SRINAGAR) Kargil anniv: Veterans' activities to start on July 20
Bhopal, July 16 (UNI) Pride and grief form a heart-rending cocktail as veterans of the Indian Armed Forces prepare for a bouquet of programmes as tribute to the indomitable courage of the nation's military officers and men who made the supreme sacrifice during the Kargil conflict whose 12th anniversary will be observed on July 26.

The Indian Ex-Servicemen Movement (IESM) commemorates the valour of these brave-hearts on that day each year through countrywide activities. This time round the activities start in the week preceding Kargil Vijay Diwas.
"Amongst all military actions since Independence, Operation Vijay was not only the longest but the ferociousness brought about heavy casualties. As many as 527 personnel were martyred and 1,363 severely wounded. Four Param Vir Chakras (PVCs) were awarded, two posthumously and nine Maha Vir Chakras were awarded, six posthumously besides 55 Vir Chakras," narrated IESM Vice-Chairman Major-General (Retd) Satbir Singh, Sena Medal.
The tenacity with which Indian Army units precariously negotiated the razor-edged mountain ridges in darkness -- for daylight spelt doom from the machine-gun-swept mountain slopes bereft of vegetation -- is testimony to the leadership, training and professionalism of the best Army in the world.
heir officers -- two of whom deserve special mention -- led the valiant soldiers from the front in true Indian Army ethos.
Captain Vikram Batra (IC-57556) of the 13 JAK Rif (the 13th Battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment) was martyred while dragging injured Lieutenant Naveen towards cover. Lt Manoj Kumar Pandey (IC-56959) of the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles said "Na chhornu" (Do not leave them) to his jawans before succumbing to wounds caused while leading his platoon through a hail of gunfire during the capture of Khalubar. Both officers were decorated with PVCs posthumously.

DEFENCE-KARGIL-IESM ACTIVITIES BHOPAL
"The years since Independence have seen an ever-declining interest in matters military. Kargil happened just a decade plus back and was confined to history within 365 days! Our forces entering Dhaka in December '71 and the heroes of the Kargil conflict are oft forgotten," alleged IESM Member Colonel (Retd) Rakesh Prasad Chaturvedi.
Rather than being confined to cantonment commemorations, IESM feels that participation by the citizenry would spread awareness a lot better. Starting on Wednesday, veterans will give lectures in schools. Taking the conflict as the backdrop, they will talk on inculcation of intrinsic qualities like values and camaraderie that characterise the Armed Forces fraternity.
On July 24, homage will be paid from 1100-1300 hrs to martyrs at the Shaheed Smarak in Sector 29, New Okhla Industrial Development Authority Area. Blood donation and organ-pledging are planned on site for those who volunteer. Over 500 persons are expected.
Several households -- both military and non-military ones -- have appreciatively adopted the poignant ceremony of lighting candles at home in the past two years. At 2000 hrs on Kargil Vijay Diwas, citizens across India are requested to light a candle each at their residences' entrances and lay a marigold each by its side after saying a prayer for those who did not come back. This may additionally be done at offices.
A university students' group will conduct a theatrical poetry performance at the Vivekananda International Foundation, Chanakyapuri, Delhi. IESM appeals to media and the people of India to join in commemorating Kargil Vijay Diwas in a befitting manner to generate the spirit of Bharat. UNI AC 0832

National Security: Special powers for armed forces

We need clarity, not emotions by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)
The Tribune Sunday, July 11, 2010, Chandigarh, India
The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, better known as AFSPA, has been brought out of wraps at various opportune times – opportune for those who have either something to gain, i.e. the insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir, political parties always ready to fish in troubled waters, with an eye on electoral gains or those who are regular establishment-baiters, who have made it a habit to take the plunge headlong in any controversy with the belief that if it is against an organ of the government, it needed to be opposed!

Many have called AFSPA a draconian law and have vehemently supported its repeal, but having read quite a few of their views and watched them pontificating on TV, I am convinced that most lack even a rudimentary, let alone in-depth knowledge on the subject. This Act has been in force for over five decades because it was essential for the conduct of smooth counter-insurgency operations by the army. It will continue to be needed as long as the army is employed on counter-insurgency/ terrorism tasks.

The Act was promulgated on September 11, 1958. The rationale for bringing the Act on the statute book needs to be appreciated. When the army was first employed on counter-insurgency tasks in Nagaland in the 1950s, two aspects came to the fore immediately. First, unlike in the case of maintenance of law and order, when the army is called out in ‘aid to the civil authority’, where time is available to employ the police before committing the army, operations against insurgents are entirely of a different genre, as the insurgents do not give any time for such niceties.

The insurgents we are fighting today are heavily armed, they act speedily, commit heinous crimes and disappear. Unless the army counters such actions with speed and not wait for orders from higher civil or military authorities, nothing would be achieved.

Secondly, the soldiers and officers of the army had to be protected from prosecution for consequential action taken against insurgents in good faith as part of their operations. Here too, the Act does contain the important caveat that the army personnel can be prosecuted with the Centre’s sanction, if their actions warrant it. There is, therefore, no blanket immunity from the laws of the land.

Over the years, some army personnel have indeed been prosecuted where a prima facie case existed. However, it is also true that due to the exceptional care which all army commanders take when their troops are employed against insurgents, such cases are few and far between.

After the initial employment in Nagaland, the employment of the army on counter-insurgency tasks continued increasing, till it was progressively employed in all the north-eastern states for such tasks. Along with such employment, AFSPA was also invoked in all affected states.

When insurgency erupted in Srinagar in 1990, the Act was extended to the Valley. Later, as the activities of the insurgents spread, first to the Poonch-Rajauri area, then to Doda and Bhadarwah and finally to the whole state, the entire state was brought under the Act’s purview in stages. It can thus be seen that AFSPA was invoked progressively only when the situation required the deployment of the army.

The army is designed and structured for fighting external enemies of the nation. Consequently, they are not given any police powers. However, when the nation wants the army to conduct counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations, then they must be given the legal authority to conduct their operations without the impediment of getting clearances from the higher authorities.

If this is not done, they would be unable to function efficiently and defeat the insurgents and terrorists at their own game. It is for this reason that the Act gives four powers to army personnel. These are for ‘enter and search’, ‘arrest without warrant’, ‘destroy arms dumps or other fortifications’ and ‘fire or use force after due warning where possible’. Once again, there is a safeguard in the Act, which stipulates that the arrested person(s) will be handed over speedily to the nearest police station.

The law stipulates that AFSPA can be imposed only after the area in question is declared a ‘disturbed area’ by the state government concerned. When this writer was the Director-General Military Operations (DGMO) and the army was asked to deploy in the Doda-Bhadarwah area, we requested for the invocation of the Act. The state government was reluctant to do so on account of political considerations, but we did not commence operations till the Act was invoked.

Clearly, the Army has no desire to get embroiled in counter-insurgency tasks. It is not the army’s job. However, despite over 50 years of insurgency in our country, the state police as well as the central police forces (CPOs) have not been made capable of tackling insurgency. Consequently, in each case the army was inducted to carry out counter insurgency/ terrorist operations. If the national leadership tasks the army for conducting such non-military operations, then it is incumbent on the leadership to provide the legal wherewithal to all army personnel employed on such tasks.

It is only then that the operations will be conducted in the usual efficient manner of the army and would be result-oriented. They also must be legally protected. It is because these two aspects have been catered for that the army has been neutralising the insurgents and terrorists, so that normalcy is restored and the political leaders and officials can restart governing.
The writer is a former Vice-Chief of the Indian Army
Special powers for armed forces: The Tribune
Special powers for special needs: Army chief to NDTV by Nitin Gokhale

Murder: Macchil killings point to malaise in military

The Hindu: Praveen Swami: SRINAGAR, June 6, 2010
Forensic investigators found no evidence to support the proposition that a fire-fight had taken place: the three victims had all been shot through the head at point blank range.

Shah, a former jihadist who was recruited to the 161 Territorial Army Battalion, is believed to have told the police that Major Singh paid each of the conspirators Rs. 50,000 for helping to kidnap the victims.

Police sources told The Hindu that Colonel Pathania kept Rs. 2,00,000 of the source-payment funds authorised by XV corps. Major Singh is thought to have kept Rs.1,50,000.

The 4 Rajput claimed to have recovered Kalashnikov assault rifles, three other assault rifles, 230 rounds of ammunition and grenades from the killed men. The police believe that they were likely part of a cache recovered by troops along the Line of Control in 2009.

Military sources say the killings were likely driven by intense pressure to secure operational success — a prerequisite for promotions in the Army's intensely competitive hierarchy. The 4 Rajput had registered little counter-infiltration success, compared with other units in the 53 Brigade and adjoining 104 Brigade's areas of operations. The police are now investigating the possibility that the 4 Rajput might have staged an earlier shootout that took place in August 2009 in the Sonapindi pass.

Key to the malaise, the Jammu and Kashmir government believes, is the Army's failure to act against rogue elements.
Read full acount of military misadventure: The Hindu: Macchil killings point to malaise in military

Gen Jaiswal said, “It (inquiry) will be totally transparent and the truth will be there.... The inquiry is on. Our genuine concern is to be transparent. This is the first step. And this should be the indicator that subsequently we will be coming out with the truth.”

This is the second time that the Army has removed a serving officer from a command. Earlier, Colonel Gloria of 33 Rashtriya Rifles was removed for allegedly killing three boys who were playing cricket in a playground in Dudipora-Handwara in February 2006, three months after he had taken over the reins of the counter-insurgency unit.
Read more: Colonel removed, Major suspended in J&K fake encounter case: click here