Armed Forces Tribunal will be under Law Ministry

Paralyzed armed forces tribunal. notice to ministry of defence Kudos to Navdeep Maj Navdeep Singh who clarifies the status of the Paralyzed AFT
Armed Forces Tribunal will be under Law Ministry
Clash of interests is being cited as the main reason why this tribunal must be removed from under the Ministry of Defence.
SUMAN SHARMA NEW DELHI | 9th Sep 2012
he Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) is all set to come under the Ministry of Law, instead of its parent body, the Ministry of Defence. The Supreme Court gave a directive to this effect in 2010 as it felt that the MoD could influence the tribunal's judgements since the latter dealt with decisions pertaining to the ministry. To ensure that fair judgements were given, the Supreme Court, in fact, directed that the administrative control of the AFT and all other tribunals should not be under their parent ministries. It recommended that the tribunals should be placed under one single nodal department, preferably the Department of Legal Affairs.
The SC directive has been under consideration ever since. But the matter got a fresh lease of life with Law Minister Salman Khurshid's recent statement in Parliament that the government was looking at the possibility of removing these tribunals from under their parent ministries and putting them under the Ministry of Law.
Clash of interests is the main reason why these tribunals need to be removed from under their parent ministries. To give an instance, the members comprising the AFT use the various facilities offered by the MoD, but are also required to pass orders against the ministry in the cases coming to them. An RTI query by a retired army officer revealed that the MoD funded AFT chairperson A.K. Mathur's foreign trips worth lakhs of rupees. The AFT also makes use of the infrastructure offered by the MoD to function: the land on which the AFTs are constructed is given by the MoD. The ministry gives the AFT members facilities such as the CSD (Canteen Stores Depot) cards. These are canteen cards that can be used to procure grocery and other household items at subsidised rates from all military canteens.
A senior retired army officer working as an administrative member at one of the AFT benches told this newspaper, "The AFTs should be under the Ministry of Law so that they can give fair judgements. Litigants are always afraid that fairness will go missing as the AFTs function from MoD land and do not have their own premises. Funds for the AFTs are also sanctioned through the MoD. The CSD cards given to the members are actually a privilege."
The Armed Forces Tribunal enjoys the status of a High Court, and came into being in 2009. Each court consists of a judicial member and an administrative member. The administrative member of an AFT is always a retired senior officer, usually a three-star officer. A source told this newspaper, "These retired officers usually know the applicants approaching the Tribunal. This increases the chances of the Tribunal's decisions being influenced. So their decisions are unlikely to be fair. This debate to delink the AFT from the administrative powers of the MoD has been going on for a long time."
Armed Forces Tribunal will be under Law Ministry

Adarsh Scam: MOD gives notice to Land Grabbers

Hand over Adarsh land: Defence Ministry to Maharashtra government
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: May 29, 2012 00:09 IST
Mumbai: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has sent a notice to the Maharashtra government claiming the ownership of the land on which the Adarsh Housing Society is built. According to the notice, the land was taken by fraud, connivance between politicians, bureaucrats and defence officials, and that the Maharashtra government is illegally denying property to the Centre.
"The 31-storey building (Adarsh) has been constructed illegally and unlawfully. The MoD is the sole owner of the land. By fraud, collusion and connivance on part of Adarsh members, ministers and bureaucrats of the state government and officials from the defence ministry acting beyond their scope of authority, the land was transferred to Adarsh society," the notice claims.
The notice, which was sent to the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Registrar of Cooperative Societies and Adarsh society, also says that if the Maharashtra government does not reply within 60 days, the Ministry of Defence will file a title suit in the Bombay High Court.
"In a final attempt to avoid litigation, the defence ministry calls upon the government and Adarsh to reconsider their legal position and acknowledge title of MoD within two months," the notice reads.
However, last month, the judicial commission of inquiry looking into the Adarsh housing scam held that the land on which Adarsh Housing Society stands belongs to the government, and not the Army.
The state government had approached the commission a few months ago seeking an interim report on the points of title and reservation. A two-member panel was set up to probe the scam in January last year.
The panel, which submitted its interim report to the government on April 13, also held that the 31-storey high-rise was not reserved for war heroes and Kargil widows. When the Adarsh scam broke, politicians, bureaucrats and Armymen were accused of grabbing Defence land. The interim report had come as a vindication of the state's stand that it was government land and it was free to allot it.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Sessions Court is likely to pronounce its order in the bail hearing of the seven people accused in the scam today. They had filed bail applications saying the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not filed its chargesheet even after the mandatory sixty days period from their date of arrest.
The accused in the Adarsh society scam include suspended Maharashtra Finance Secretary Pradeep Vyas, P V Deshmukh, Retired Brigadier MM Wanchoo, former Defence Estates Officer RC Thakur, Retired Major General A R Kumar, Retired Major General TK Kaul and former Congress MLC K L Gidwani.
Hand over Adarsh land: Defence Ministry to Maharashtra government
New move by Bureaucrats to grab Military Lands
Mod to Amend the Works of Defence Act, 1903

Lt Gen Tejinder Singh adopts Military Tactics: Deception

Twin Scamster Tejinder Singh: Does he have a Political Godfather?
Adarsh scam: CBI quizzes Lt Gen Tejinder Singh
Published: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 20:24 IST
Place: Mumbai | Agency: PTI
The CBI has questioned Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, named by Army Chief Gen VK Singh as the person who had allegedly offered him a bribe of Rs14 crore, in connection with the Adarsh Society scam here.
CBI sources said he was quizzed yesterday about how he got a flat in the controversial society, the source of his funds and to check the veracity of documents.
When contacted, Singh said over phone that he was not an accused in the scam and was called by CBI to verify some facts about his flat in the Adarsh Socie"They had asked me how I had purchased the flat, what was the source of funding, my income and genuineness of my signatures on the documents... It's a normal process and all other members of the society have also been questioned by the CBI," Singh says.
Adarsh Housing society had come under CBI scanner after it was alleged that land which was allotted by the state for welfare of servicemen and their widows was in fact used for the benefit of relatives of politicians, public servants and senior service officers including former army chiefs.
The then Maj Gen Tejinder Singh was Commander of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat region between 2005-07 and has a flat in the society.
The Comptroller and Auditor General in its report on the scam last year had pointed out that all service officers except one who were in-charge in Maharashtra between February 1998 and July 2010, became beneficiaries as per the list of the members of the society.
Tejinder Singh, a former director general of Defence Intelligence Agency, had been questioned by the CBI in New Delhi connection with the alleged bribe offer made to Army Chief VK Singh. He had filed a defamation complaint against the Army Chief and four other Army officials rejecting the allegations that he had offered the bribe for clearing a deal for 600 "sub-standard" vehicles.
Tatra scam: CBI questions Tejinder Singh

President's Pune Home: Is surrender of land a diversionary tactic?

President returns Pune plot to Govt.
April 28, 2012 2:20 am
President Pratibha Patil, who has recently come at the centre of a controversy over her post-retirement home in Pune, on Friday decided to give up the controversial plot back to the government.
Confirming the development, the Presidential spokesperson said, “President Patil has decided to give up the Pune land on which a bungalow, meant to be her post-retirement home, was to be built back to the government.”
“The President is answerable to the people of India, Constitution and her conscience. The land will remain with the government,” Presidential spokesperson said. The controversy about President Pratibha Patil’s post-retirement home erupted after an organisation of ex-servicemen in Pune alleged that over fives acres of land had been allotted for purpose of her residence after she demits office later in July this year when her five-year term ends.
Suresh Patil, a retired Lt Col of the Pune-based ‘Justice for Jawan’, part of NGO ‘Green Thumb’ group, who has accessed details about the Government’s measures for providing her housing in Pune, claimed that a large extent of land measuring over 2.60 lakh square feet had been allotted to her in Khadki cantonment in Pune.
He claimed that a house with a plinth area of 4,500 square feet was being built for her by bringing down two British-era county bungalows. The former Army official questioned why such a large extent of land was being fenced to protect this house for Pratibha Patil, who recently made news when an RTI application brought out the fact that over Rs 205 crore were spent on her foreign travels.
President returns Pune plot to Govt.

Adarsh scam: ED to summon flat holders to identify proxies

Manish Pachouly , Hindustan Times
Mumbai, May 02, 2012
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will soon start summoning flat holders in the tainted Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society to gather evidence that would help them attach the properties in the cases found to have violated the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED had on Monday informed the Bombay high court that it would start attaching the properties once the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) files the charge sheet.
The ED had also informed the court that it has already registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against all the 14 persons booked by the CBI. Sources said that to attach properties, the agency would have to gather concrete evidence, for which flat owners suspected to have violated the money laundering law need to be summoned.
The first set of summons would go to the relatives, friends and acquaintances of the accused, named in the first information report (FIR) by the CBI, and who hold flats in Adarsh.
During investigation, the CBI has come across instances where one person holds more than one flat and where flats have been booked in the names of drivers or those with very meagre incomes.
In a recent remand, the CBI had said that former member of legislative council and one of the promoters of the society, Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, had revealed that out of four flats (suspected to be benami, i.e. in proxy names) he holds, two are reserved in proxy names to oblige some high and mighty persons in the government of Maharashtra who dealt with the file during the relevant period and two others for a similar purpose.
The payments for the above flats have been made by Gidwani through his bank accounts.
Sources said that there are many such cases where actual owners of the flats are different from the people in whose names the flats are registered.
The ED will record statements to find out the actual source of payments made for the flats in question.
For this, the ED plans to go into the entire trail of money -- from its origin till the payment was made for the flats.
Sources said the ED would wait before summoning the accused named in the CBI’s FIR, with 9 out of 14 accused behind bars.
Sources said since these accused are in judicial custody, the court's permission would be required to record their statements, and it would also be difficult to take bulk of the documents to the jail.
The ED would therefore summon them once they are out on bail.
Sources said recording statements of family members, friends and acquaintances on whose names the flats are booked would be valuable at this stage.
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Comment: The former chief's who had booked houses in the Adarsh Housing Scam and subsequently withdrawn need to be investigated for money laundering and black money generated by accepting bribes from munition dealers.

President Pratibha Patil who serves and lives in Royal Style: Will she be remembered in History?

Pained at fallacious observations regarding post retirement home President of India decides to forego her accommodation
The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil has been reading and watching the unfolding of some fallacious observations regarding the accommodation in Pune which she was to occupy after relinquishing the office of the President. She chose not to react as she has always held herself answerable to the Constitution of our country and her conscience. It was expected that once the facts were made public it would convince the concerned people. But despite clarifications given by the President's Secretariat, it is unfortunate that the misgivings continue to persist.
What has pained the President the most is the fact that she is now being portrayed by some people as one who, by agreeing to accept a defence accommodation for her post retirement home, is insensitive to the cause of war widows and ex-servicemen. But facts are to the contrary. She has always been proud of our brave jawans who are ever-ready to display their spirit of sacrifice while defending our borders. She has the highest regards for our war widows who have lost their dear ones for the sake of security and integrity of the nation. To express solidarity, boost their morale and to gain first hand experience of the hardships faced by our Defence Forces, she visited far flung army establishments like those in Tangdhar, Bhadarwah, Leh, to name a few, and several distant inhospitable forward areas in the North East. She would be the last person to ever think of dislocating or coming in the way of creating facilities for our war widows and ex-servicemen.
Women’s issues have always been her concern and those of war widows particularly occupy a very special place in her mind. She has worked relentlessly towards their welfare and would like people to know that as Governor of Rajasthan she personally wrote to 1192 war widows to help resolve their problems. Here is an article which appeared in the Hindustan Times a few years ago which said:
"Away from the media glare, Rajasthan Governor Pratibha Patil is quietly attending to problems of hundreds of war widows. She has asked the war widows to contact or see her personally. Over 1000 letters have been posted in the past one month as the Raj Bhavan gets deluged with responses. Now, Patil receives around two dozen letters every day while a number of widows of martyrs meet her personally with problems. Their letters are being forwarded to the concerned department in the State Government for suitable action." (Anjul Tomar, Jaipur May-2, 2005).
As Governor, she had instructed all the District Collectors of Rajasthan to inform her regularly about the progress in resolving the problems of war widows. Under her directions, a State Level Committee was constituted with the Director, Sainik Kalyan Board, Rajasthan as its Chairman to address the issues affecting the war widows on a priority. The District Collectors were also instructed to organize camps at Sub-Divisional level for hearing the war widows and to solve their grievances expeditiously.
She ensured that the newly constructed 'War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre' at Jaipur was allocated Rs. 2 crore from the Amalgamated Fund of the Governor to facilitate its smooth functioning. The District Sainik Kalyan Officers were invited to Raj Bhavan, Jaipur and were advised to make wide publicity about the Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre so that no war widow was denied the facility for want of information.
Once there was a news item in Dainik Bhaskar, Jaipur Edition of 9th March 2005 that the Headquarters of Western Army Command would be temporarily shifted to the War Widows Hostel & Rehabilitation Centre. She took up the matter with the Chief Minister of Rajasthan immediately. The then Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje promptly responded through her letter, that the headquarters of Western Army Command would be relocated elsewhere and that the War Widows Hostel & Rehabilitation Centre would not be utilized as Headquarters of Western Command or for any other purpose.
If as Governor she had pursued the matters of war widows with such passion and concern, and if she had objected to even the temporary shifting of the Western Command Headquarters to the War Widows Hostel and Rehabilitation Centre in Jaipur, would she ever think of dislocating or come in the way of creating accommodation for war widows or occupy a property allegedly meant for any such purpose as her post retirement home? The accommodation proposed to be allocated to her by the Ministry of Defence was never indicated as one earmarked for war widows. It was to be allotted to her for use as her post retirement residence only during her lifetime with no rights of ownership, transfer lease, etc. However, considering the fact that the issue has got linked with the issue of war widows accommodation by some people, the President has chosen to forego the aforesaid allotment of accommodation proposed to be made to her as her post retirement home in Pune.
Hope this will put an end to all misgivings in this regard.
PIB Release-click here
Comment: Honourable President trying to shed crocodile tears for the defence forces who still remain exploited by all the Polical Forces to downgrade them to a non- entity. Where is justice for the Patriotic Jawans who guard the nation 24x7? The Supreme Commander's response sadly has remained negative. Her luxurious style of living at tax payers expense is most disgusting and telling proof of her indifference.

Adarsh: A calculated Military Ponzi scheme to reap a harvest

Adarsh case: Land does not belong to defence, says interim report
Reported by Priyanka Kakodkar, Written by Mala Das | Updated: April 18, 2012 01:40 IST
Mumbai: In a huge relief to the Maharashtra government, the judicial commission of inquiry looking into the Adarsh housing scam has held that the land on which Adarsh Housing Society stands belongs to the government, and not the Army.
The state government had approached the commission a few months ago seeking an interim report on the points of title and reservation. A two-member panel was set up to probe the scam in January last year.
The panel, which submitted its interim report to the government last Friday, also held that the 31-storey high-rise was not reserved for war heroes and Kargil widows.
Findings of the interim report, many say, could impact the case of the CBI that's running a parallel probe contending it's a Defence land grab. The investigating agency, however, says that these findings will not affect its case as it is not investigating the land title but the larger conspiracy and corruption.
When the Adarsh scam broke, politicians, bureaucrats and Armymen were accused of grabbing Defence land. This report comes as a vindication of the state's stand that it was government land and it was free to allot it.
"From day one, we have been saying the same thing. But the issue was so hyped by the media and after a lot of publicity and media attention, nobody accepted the stand of the government," said Union Science and Technology Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told NDTV.
"There is no conspiracy. That is established today," said former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan.
This report provides some relief to those involved in giving initial clearances like former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde.
The judicial panel has been tasked with probing all aspects of the scam, including ownership of the land and allotment, as well as alleged violations of rules in grant of various clearances to the building. The commission is also looking into violation of coastal zone regulations.
The illegal green clearance against which the Union Environment Ministry has taken a strong stand came during Mr Mr Shinde's tenure. During Mr Deshmukh's tenure, doubtful additional building rights were granted to Adarsh. And Mr Chavan still faces charges of conflict of interest as three family members were allotted flats in Adarsh during his tenure as revenue minister.
Original Post- click here
Comment
Who then are the culprits who handed over the Khukri Garden Military Lands to Adarsh? Till that point of time there was no controversy regarding the Military Land Ownership. The criminals have arm- twisted the Military out of its fencing! The Adarsh scam is only a droplet in the ocean- an eye- opener to what is is happening in all the cantonments- Land sharks have ursurped Miltary Lands by paying bribes to title holders at the lowest level but operating from the top....

President and her extended family eyes for grabbing A1 defence land

President had eyes set on classified A1 defence land
Saturday, 14 April 2012 00:22 TN Raghunatha | Mumbai
If new revelations are anything to go by, there is more than what meets the eye behind the allotment of two bungalows for the construction of President Pratibha Patil’s post-retirement home at Khadki in Pune.
First, informed sources in the Defence Estate Office of the Pune-based Southern Command, have revealed that the two plots where bungalows
number 38 and 26-A were located, are on plots of land which have been classified as “A1 defence land” which should be “in active occupation of the forces and allied services” and the where civilians should not be allowed to undertake construction.
In essence, it is surprising why Army Commander of the Southern Command Lt Gen AK Singh, under whose jurisdiction the Military Engineering Services (MES) undertook the construction of the President’s new bungalow on two plots of land, did not raise any objection to locating the civilian residential structure on plots of land classified as “A1 defence land”.
Click here fo the complete story: President had eyes set on classified A1 defence land

Does the President need free military lands for post retirement luxury?

Dear Veterans,
1. Do you really feel it is justified to allot Residential land out from the Defence Land to the President of India at Khadki Cantonment Pune. Why Prime Defence land only, Ms Pratiba patil is president of India and has proved to be a Dummy Supreme Commander of the Armed forces. Thousands of Medals belonging to Defence Veterans are lying with the President, deposited in Protest for granting OROP, a well deserve benefit required by ESM.The president has till date not even looked at the deposited medals lying in president custody and wants to reap fruits of Post retirement from the Defence quota of land.
2. Is there a dearth of land or place for the President from Maharatra in Maharastra. The govt is quoting rules about the desire of President without taking into account the land grab cases against her husband and son caught with crore cash during elections and her picnic with family members have costed Rs 250 Crores from the Sate Exchequer on foreign trips.God save India from such Politicians who have no more regard to the Armed forces and their preparedness for war. The combat soldiers are suffering for allotment of accommodation due to scarcity of buildup accommodation, they are allotted in turn as per the unit seniority register, but we have to Salute the Netas for their own benefits always in forefront.
3. The ESM of Pune headed by Lt Col Suresh Patil "Justce for Jawan", has taken the right stand to challenge the non-deserving Head of the state to occupy and get allotted more then five acres of land allotted from Defence Land. Do you really think such huge area is required by the President after retirement, keeping in view the Past roles of previous presidents in active Politics or in National building except Ex-President ABJ Abdul Kalam, who is still active.
4. ESM must unite together and raise their voice against the allotment of residential land to a non-deserving President who has done nothing for the welfare of ESM and has been a mute spectator. Did not even receive the medals of brave sepoys of the Nation. ESM must get together at Pune and organize a rally to oppose the allotment to convey the message to the President about the feeling of neglect by the Supreme Commander.
5. We request Lt Gen Raj Kadyan, Maj Gen Satbir Singh of IESM to spearhead against the largesse bestowed on the President, others will follow.
.... Sanjha Morcha

Army officers gave away Pune land willingly

India Today Krishna Kumar Mumbai, February 8, 2012 | UPDATED 15:55 IST
The CBI investigations into Pune's Kalpataru land scam have thrown up shocking leads, which hint at the involvement of a select group of army officers in influential positions in all the scams reported from Maharashtra, including Adarsh.
The agency claims that former defence estates officer S.R. Nayyar, allegedly involved in the Kalpataru scandal, played a major role in the Adarsh scam too. Suspected to be involved in several major scams, Nayyar was already under the scanner when the CBI took up the Kalpataru case probe.
Investigating around 30 benami flats in the Adarsh housing society, the CBI ran into Vishal Kedari, who owned on paper one such benami flat. Kedari's trail brought the CBI to Pune where it realised that he could not have purchased the Rs.71-lakh flat since he was unemployed and did only odd jobs. Yet, he had managed to purchase the expensive flat without any bank loan.
Kedari's questioning revealed that he had got Rs.31 lakh as loan from Nayyar, whom he considers his "father figure". The rest of the amount was also given by other "father figures and friends", Kedari claimed.
But the CBI has evidence to show that Kedari was just a front and that the real flat owner is Nayyar himself.
So how did Nayyar manage to pay for the Adarsh flat? Well, the CBI did not have to look far. Nayyar was already under the scanner after he gave away 69 acres of army land to a private builder. He forged land records to show that the land belonged to Kevin Pinto. In return for his "services", Nayyar received Rs.2 crore in bribe in April 2008, which later went into buying the Adarsh flat through Kedari.
The CBI now believes that Nayyar and many of those involved in the Adarsh and Kalpataru scams were part of an army cartel that was involved in such "parcelling" of land worth crores to builders in lieu of money.
Read more at: click here

Land Grab. And how to make millions: Maharastra Style
The politician-builder nexus in Maharashtra has plundered away prime land. Can Prithviraj Chavan break the vice-like grip the realtors have over the state? Ashish Khetan reports: Click here to learn about the modus operandi of Maharastra Political Criminals

Pune Land Scam: Former vice chief of Army raided

Former vice chief of Army raided as part of land scam inquiry
Nitin Gokhale, Updated: January 31, 2012 19:55 IST
Pune: Lieutenant General Noble Thamubraj, the former vice chief of the Army and former Defence Estates Officer, Pune, SR Nayyar have been raided in connection with a land scam in Pune.
Officials from the CBI visited their homes in Pune this morning. Cases against them now include charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct.
Both officers allegedly played lead roles in violating the terms of lease of a one-acre plot of Army land in the Pune cantonment area to Kalpatru Builders.
Noble Thamburaj was Southern Army Commander before becoming Vice Chief of Army Staff. He retired in 2010. The CBI says that Nobel Thamburaj and SR Nayyar sanctioned a deal skewed in favour of the real estate developers, costing the Army Rs 46 crore.
Kalpataru Builders are involved in another land scam in Mumbai. According to the CBI, in 2007, three acres of land in Kandivali West next to an Army Ordnance Depot was used by by Kalpatru Builders to construct a multi-storied building. Army officials said the mandatory No objection Certificate was not taken from the authorities concerned. The building also compromised the Army's security. The Army believes that a network of officers colluded to profit from underhand arrangement.
Read more at: Former vice chief of Army raided as part of land scam

Comment: What about Officers involved in the Adarsh Scam? Why the go slow?
Noble Career engulfed in corruption
Lieutenant General Noble Thamburaj, a 1969 batch officer, had a distinguished career spanning 38 years. Associated with the Armed Forces services right from childhood, this second generation officer is an alumnus of King George’’s Military School Chail, Sainik Schools Amravati Nagar and Jamnagar, and the 34th NDA Course, before he was commissioned into the Bombay Sappers. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, the General has done his Senior Command, Higher Command and NDC Courses. He is also accredited with higher technical qualification, M Tech (Bldg Sc) from IIT Delhi and M Phil (Defence Studies) from Indore University. During his illustrious career, the General has held many important assignments including that of a Brigade Major of a Mountain Brigade, command of 411 parachute field company, command of his parent unit 109 engineer regiment in high altitude area in the eastern region. He commanded a Rashtriya Rifle sector in counter Insurgency environment during ”Operation VIJAY” and an infantry division during ”Operation PARAKRAM”, in deserts. Besides, he has been an instructor in Defence Services Staff College Officers Training Academy, Chennai. A paratrooper, the General still participates in the para drops whenever opportunity comes his way. For his distinguished service, the General has been awarded Sena Medal and Chief of the Army Staff commendation card twice in his career. In his career spanning 39 years, the General has seen action during Indo-Pak war, counter insurgency in North East and Jammu and Kashmir. The General is married to Anita Thamburaj and has two daughters. (ANI)
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Former Army Commander's lukewarm and unsoldierly response
Why am I 'singled out', asks ex-Army vice chief He should come clean on the conspiracy, beneficiaries and the co- conspirators.

Greedy Generals Subvert Military Land Titles

Generals Vij and Deepak are they the perpetuators of this Puzzle?
Puzzling land title system behind Adarsh scam: Jaipal Reddy
New Delhi, Nov 27 (PTI)
Against the backdrop of Adarsh scam, the Union government today blamed the complex land title system for increasing number of such cases and favoured urgent reforms in the sector to make it transparent and effective.
"The recent scandal relating to Adarsh housing society is a classic example. Nobody knows to whom the land belongs," Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy said here at a seminar on Guaranteed Land and Property Certification system.
He said, "Can there be a more sorry example of land titling. I am not talking of misuse by the people belonging to every important walks of life -- politicians, defence forces, bureaucrats...I am not referring to the scandal part of the thing. Today nobody knows to whom the property belongs."
The seminar was organised to discuss ways for introducing property certification system in the country. He said the system is being exploited by people like Haji Mastan (land mafia) and there is a nexus between politicians and officials.
"Thanks to the problem of urban land titling, we have Haji Mastans (land mafia) in every towns. Most of the politicians, policemen, officials... are hand in glove when it comes to urban land," Reddy said, adding, "In the last ten years, mining land and urban land have become best source of money making. It is difficult to find a non-disputed land."
He said, "Land titling is a ticklish question not only in urban area, but also in rural areas. Even in pre-Independent India it took decades to settle the land suit and that situation remains (till today)." Since urbanisation is growing apace it is difficult to distinguish rural and urban land, he said.
Referring Nandigram, the minister said there is need for a comprehensive law for guaranteed land titles. "We saw the problem in Nandigram where land owners were in Kolkata and somebody else was the tenant. Today no body knows to whom the property belongs. In my view, land titles pose most legal puzzle to our system."
Hoping that there will be a way forward, he said, "The subject is with the state government and not with the Centre. Let us find a solution. Let us take a few small steps." The Centre has already set up a working group and is developing a model land title for the states. The model will be provided to the state so that they can adopt a modern, effective and transparent land title certification system, Urban Development Secretary Navin Kumar said.
Puzzling land title system behind Adarsh scam- Deccan Herald Report

Tailpiece
Court-martialled officer not to get post-retirement benefits
Army sacks guilty General in Sukhna scam
New Delhi/Guwahati, Dec 3, DHNS:
Former military secretary Lt Gen Avadesh Prakash was on Saturday dismissed from service after he was found guilty on three counts in a land scam at the Sukhna military station in West Bengal in 2008.
Sixty-one-year-old Prakash is the third Lt Gen rank officer to be court-martialled and the second to be sacked.
As Prakash has already retired from service on January 31, 2010, as per the Army Act, the dismissal means he will not get any post-retirement benefits like pension, medical facility and provident fund or be able to retain the rank and status of Lt General. He also automatically stands stripped off all his medals.
The order by the military court will be sent for confirmation to the eastern army commander, the convening authority of the General Court Martial in the case.
The order has to be signed by the Army chief to come into effect and Lt Gen Prakash can appeal against it in the civilian higher judiciary
Sukhna Scamster dismissed

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

Defence Land scam in the offing in Andhra Pradesh

Ex-servicemen to stage protest today Special Correspondent
The hindu Online edition of India's National Newspaper Wednesday, Apr 06, 2011

Association seeks allotment of house sites for the welfare of ex-servicemen

Alleges handing over of Defence lands to others without permission

KADAPA: Ex-Servicemen's Association members will stage a protest rally and demonstrate before the Tahsildar office in Badvel on Wednesday against non-implementation of GOs 1241, 243 and 244 issued for allotting house sites to them on payment basis since four years.
No response
The association has represented to the Governor and Chief Minister Peshi and several leaders that house sites be allotted for the welfare of ex-servicemen, shift the congested military canteen, allotment of land to a military hospital and against handing over of Defence reserve lands to others without any permissions, but there was no response from the powers that be, association president P. Lakshminarayana, general secretary M. Penchalaiah, treasurer M.C. Ramaiah and members alleged in a statement.
The 30 Andhra NCC Battalion want to shift the CSM military canteen from its present congested location to any government accommodation. Sites reserved for defence personnel were being distributed to others without permission from higher officials, they said.
Site for ECHS Polyclinic
The Ex-Servicemen Association sought allotment of a building or sites for a hospital for men's contributory health scheme, but the plea was pending although thousands of rupees were paid to the government, they said.
Brig. Vidyasagar wrote five D.O. letters to the Secretary, Revenue.
They represented to the Collector Shashi Bhushan Kumar, Superintendent of Police Tarun Joshi, 30 Andhra NCC Battalion Commandant Lt. Col. V.N. Shasidharan, Zilla Sainik Welfare Officer Major A. Ahmad Basha and Director of Sainik Welfare Brig. C.S. Vidyasagar.
Ex-servicemen to stage protest today

Indian Army battles encroachments of its lands in cities

Army, corporator fight over 'encroached' land by Hemanth CS, DNA, Updated: December 09, 2010 15:40 IST

Bangalore: The Indian Army not only has to deal with incursions on the borders but also with alleged encroachment of its lands within cities where their bases are located.

The Parachute Regiment Training Centre (PRTC) in Bangalore is one such. A local corporator has allegedly not just encroached upon its land in two separate locations adjoining HD Deve Gowda Road in RT Nagar, but also built a commercial complex and a petrol bunk there.

Documents with the PRTC officials show that a total of 27.87 guntas of land has been allegedly encroached upon by JC Nagar corporator N Govindaraju (of ward no 46).

Govindaraju claims the land is his ancestral property and insists that he is in possession of the PRTC land which had been handed over to the Central government by the Mysore State after it merged with the Indian Union in the 1950s.

"The Mysore State Force handed over 613 acres and 33 guntas of land to the government of India after the state's merger. This land which was used by the Mysore Lancers and the Mysore Infantry and given to Ministry of Defence in 1955. But over the years small portions of our lands have been encroached upon," a senior official of the PRTC told DNA.

The encroached land on which the petrol pump and commercial complex have come up fall under survey no 42 of Matadahalli and survey no 1 of Saverline villages.
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Army, corporator fight over 'encroached' land

How the Army Lands are ursurped and encroached?
Local civil cantonment/ municipal elected councillors are the real culprits who allow criminals to surreptitiously and silently encroach Military Lands over a period of time in collusion with the Defence Estate officers who get a kick back on regular basis. The Military is often made a scapegoat as it has no wherewithal to fight the Political criminals and prefer to turn a blind eye to encroachments!