Lohegaon defence land scam

Court summons two officers in Lohegaon defence land scam case
Brigadier Talwar and Colonel Shukla told to be present in court on September 20 in the Rs 800 crore case
Pune Mirror Bureau
Posted On Thursday, August 30, 2012 at 08:42:24 AM
The court of Judicial Magistrate (First Class) M Y Doiphode on Tuesday issued summons to Brigadier Sanjeev Talwar (Corps of Engineers), ex-commander of station headquarters, Kirkee (Aundh), and Colonel Sharad Shukla, ex-commanding officer of Dunkirk Lines- Signals Regiment, Pune, to be present in court on September 20, 2012 in the Rs 800 crore Lohegaon defence land scam case.
City-based builder Harish Milani (57) has alleged in his complaint filed against the duo in court that they misused their authority to show a piece of private land as defence land.
Earlier, Kevin Pinto, who had purchased the land from Milani, as well as then Defence Estate Officer S R Nayyar and Milani were arrested by the CBI for allegedly cheating the Government of India in this matter. They face the charges of falsely claiming ownership of the 69.4 acres of defence land on Survey no 233-A in Lohegaon.
In his complaint filed in May, Milani has stated that based on the land ownership certificate of Dunkirk Lines (dated July 17, 2009), Sector 6, the land (79 acres and 3 gunthas) is not part of the said certificate.
The complaint categorically states, “Talwar misused his official position and prepared a forged land ownership certificate dated July 24, 2009, and included the said land as part of this certificate.
Thus the total area of land jumped to 150 acres and 24 gunthas. This was signed by Shukla and Talwar. They had forced the then DEO to sign the allegedly forged certificate.”
Earlier in this, case Milani had also filed a complaint in the court, alleging that CBI officials and Ramesh Govani, chairman of Kamala Mills Limited had conspired and created fabricated evidence to frame him in the matter. Milani has also demanded Rs 100 crore as compensation for the mental torture he has undergone.
Brigadier Sanjeev Talwar, ex-commander of station headquarters, Kirkee (Aundh), and Colonel Sharad Shukla, ex-commanding officer of Signals Regiment, Pune, to remain present in court on September 20. They had allegedly misused their authority to show a private land in Lohegaon as defence land.

ECHS: Letter to Chairman Oversight Committee

Dear General Raviraj,
I was delighted to speak with you on 27 Jun 2012 and to know you were heading a Committee to bring about improvement in the functioning of the ECHS. I would have been happier still if your charter included the possibilities of closing it down for at least those for whom it has become a pain in the neck.
On raising the Association the first essential thing we thought for Veterans was ASSURED MEDICAL FACILITY at Govt expense. During the first ten years we made many suggestions to the Govt about it but when we found a flaw in it we withdrew it, till we arrived at a flawless medicare policy scheme. This scheme was to be fully financed by the Govt.
It took me another ten years to get it sanctioned by no less a person than the Hon'ble PM himself on 26 Jul 2001. After its approval it was passed onto the Service Headquarters by the MOD with directions to produce the best scheme under those parameters and it would be fully financed by the Govt. The Govt was prepared to give that scheme within months.
Then our Service Headquarters came into play and denied us the best. I called it the greatest tragedy of life because my twenty years effort was destroyed , this time not by oft accused hostile bureaucracy but by our own Service Headquarters. When this was being destroyed I went and cried to the Chiefs and got course correction done three times, but finally the AG prevailed by deceit leaving us to curse our luck when we have to avail this facility.
What finally was dumped on us was a third rate copy of the outdated civil scheme of the CGHS. This scheme is basically a flawed scheme. No amount of flogging this dead horse is going to work. Your charter is therefore absolutely daunting and I sympathize with you.
Before the Scheme was launched the AG and the newly appointed MD of ECHS made a presentation at the USI telling us how good it was. I asked for perrmission to speak during the presentation,but was not allowed. Then I made out a paper and distributed to over 500 officers during the presentation. What I wrote then was true then and continues to be true even now. I am attaching that paper for you to go through now (not attached HERE being scan copy in pdf format). Will come back with more later.
This paper was presented to the COSC when they invited me for presntation to them on 25 Nov 2003 and to the Defense Parliamentary Committee several times. They all agreed with me but wanted to see its functioning for some time before reconsidering the decision. Now afer ten years we have not only seen its functioning but also suffered enough. Its time to act before it is too late. I will keep sending you some mails which would give you the immensity of the problem. Warm regards
Lt Col Inderjit Singh
Chairman AEIWA

MoD Initiates Slew of Steps to Audit Defence land

MoD Initiates Slew of Steps to Audit Defence land
The Ministry of Defence has initiated several steps to audit the vast land holdings held by the 62 Cantonments and the Defence Estates. Announcing the measures at the first Performance Appraisal Conference of the Chief Executive Officers of the Cantonment Boards here today, the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony said the procedure related to issue of No Objection Certificate for Defence Land would be done strictly according to laid down policy. Shri Antony’s speech was read out in-absentia as he could not attend the function due to indisposition.

Observing that “a few NoCs issued in the past by certain local authorities have earned us a bad name,” Shri Antony said this must be avoided. He declared that all vacant pieces of Defence Land would be constantly monitored to avert encroachment.

“In order to protect vacant pieces of Defence Lands, Camping Grounds and abandoned airfields, it has been decided that they would be guarded by nearby military units and when this was not possible sufficient manpower resources would be placed with the Defence Estates Officers to look after them.”

The Defence Minister announced two important projects for efficiently managing defence estates. “One is regarding the introduction of modern survey technology in the Defence Estates and completing of survey work of all defence land in phase-wise manner within a period of three years. The second project is that of Digitization and Indexing of Defence Land records.”

Shri Antony said that a computerization project to scan, index and microfilm all Defence Land-title related records has been sanctioned by the Defence Ministry. “This is an important project to make land-title related documents easily retrievable as also preserve them for future years.”

The Director-General of Defence Estates (DGDE) is the custodian of more than 17 lakh acres of land holdings in Cantonments and other defence estates, making it the largest land holders in the country.

Based on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, Shri Antony said that he has initiated steps for Land Audit. Cautioning that the Land Audit does not get reduced to just being a fault-finding exercise by one Department of another, he said that “the intention is to control and monitor adherence to laid down procedures and strengthen the overall land management system.”

Pointing out that the Cantonment Boards have to keep pace with the rapid infrastructure development witnessed in the adjoining municipal bodies in the metros and big cities, the Defence Minister said that the cash-starved Cantonment Boards would have to “look for alternative sources of revenue generation.”

In his address the Minister of State for Defence Shri MM Pallam Raju said that the law has been amended that gives Cantonment Boards the status of deemed municipal bodies. He said that the Defence Estates officials must give priority to get the Cantonment Boards included in the funding earmarked for the municipal committees.

“Ministry of Defence has also been working towards including the select Cantonments in the City Development Plan (CDP) of the adjoining cities which are covered under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission. Though the Ministry of Urban Development have agreed to include Cantonments in the CDP of the adjoining cities, the funding for the proposed infrastructure in cantonment areas has remained an issue which is yet to be resoloved.”

Speaking on the occasion Shri Shekhar Agarwal, Special Secretary, Ministry of Defence, said that two circulars on ceding of Defence Land and issue of NoC to Defence and adjoining Lands would be issued later this week, which would streamline the procedures and plug loopholes. The DGDE Shri Ashok Kumar Harnal also spoke on the occasion. PK/Suman (Release ID :71940)
MoD Initiates Slew of Steps to Audit Defence land

Comment: Leasing of Defence Lands is the source of corruption. Measures and methods adopted by Politicians and agents is to make mega bucks in connivance with the local DEO's and Military authorities. All lease deeds need to be examined and reviewed for better management of Defence Estates. All encroachers need to evicted if the intention of MOD is genuine.

Land Scam: Swift action by the Army

Army orders probe into Adarsh Society scam, role of officers
NDTV December 11, 2010 22:06 IST
New Delhi: The Army today ordered a court of inquiry into the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai and the alleged role of senior serving and retired officers, including Major General R K Hooda, in it.

"Yes, a court of inquiry has been ordered in the Adarsh Society episode and certainly Major General R K Hooda figures among those who will be examined," a senior officer in the Army headquarters here told PTI.

The Army's Pune-based Southern Command headquarters ordered the probe to find out how these officers had issued a No-Objection Certificate to the private housing society to construct a 31-storeyed complex on a plot in Kolaba.

Maj Gen Hooda was the Mumbai-based Area Commander for Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa.

The 104-apartment Society got embroiled in a controversy after the Navy had raised concerns over security as the building over-looked important military installations.
NDTV Report- Read more click here
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Exploitation of Defence Lands
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"They are from across the border and perhaps from Faridkot, Pakistan. They tried to pretend that they were from Hyderabad" Major General R.K. Hooda, leading the military operation to flush out the extremists, told reporters.
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Adarsh scam: Navy says huge number of plots encroached upon

Mumbai, Dec 1, (PTI):
In the wake of the Adarsh housing scam, the Navy has found that a ''huge number'' of its plots were encroached upon, a top Navy official said on Wednesday.

"We have started the exercise of identifying plots, its owner and the acquisition...whether they belong to Defence or Revenue department. We are checking all the records of land holdings to ascertain whether it is in jurisdiction of Defence or Revenue department. We will be reclaiming all our Defence land," Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin told reporters on board aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

"A huge number of our plots are encroached upon, like in Mumbai's Navy Nagar, Geeta Nagar, Ganesh Murti Nagar and Sunder Nagar areas and also at Kalyan in neighbouring Thane district," he said.

On the Geeta Nagar plot, the Maharashtra Government had assured that the slum dwellers would be rehabilitated under the SRA scheme by 2011, he said. The Kalyan plot is encroached by farmers for agriculture, he said.

"It is believed that the land is in possession of the Defence but it is still not clear who is the actual owner of the plot. So the matter is in the court. The owner is either the Defence or the Revenue department of the state government," Bhasin said, commenting on the Adarsh housing issue.

The issue needs to be resolved. There are irregularities in sanctioning, allotment and the environmental CRZ clearance. These issues are now being looked at, he said.

Asked why the Navy took such a long time to take cognisance of the Adarsh scam, he said, "I agree that somebody should have taken a note of the fact that such a huge building was coming up."

"It (Adarsh) is a subjudiced matter now, so it would not be appropriate for me to say what should have been done or not," the officer said.

Asserting that action would be taken against any Navy officer found involved in the scam, Bhasin said, "We are not holding any internal enquiry yet and are relying on the CBI enquiry."
Adarsh scam: Navy says huge number of plots encroached upon

The emoluments of Army top brass as purportedly declared by them while procuring flats in Adarsh Society here has surprised the CBI which is approaching the Defence Ministry to seek clarification on whether an Army Chief was being paid only Rs 23,450 per month.
Adarsh: CBI wants info from MoD on salary of top army officers

AT EASE WITH GREASE: General Deepak Kapoor may seem like a terrible aberration. But BRIJESH PANDEY finds the rot runs deeper in the army

MOD Land Lease scam: Prestigious Chennai Clubs Cheat the Nation

Gymkhana Club, Chennai
The then Madras Gymkhana Club was in occupation of 44.13 acres of Defence land in a prime part of the city from December 1977 to November 1986 on payment of annual rent of Rs 3,526. Though a formal lease agreement had not been entered into with the Club till then, the Ministry of Defence sanctioned, in October 1990, the continuance of the lease only in respect of 8.608 acres of land retrospectively from November 1986 onwards at the increased annual rent of Rs.8,608 based on agricultural rates. No lease agreement was concluded even thereafter.

The DEO, Chennai, recovered rent from the Club up to November 1991. Thereafter, he stopped accepting rent from the Club on the ground that it had resorted to unauthorised construction on the leased land and had also made alterations to the building thereon without the prior permission of the lessor and in violation of the lease agreement.

Audit scrutiny disclosed the following:
The Club had constructed 14 air-conditioned guest rooms, in respect of which rent ranging from Rs 900 to Rs 1,950 per day was levied, a beauty parlour, a Chinese kitchen, ice-cream parlour, etc. It had also sub-let a portion of the land to a bank without the prior permission of the lessor.
Keeping in view the Club’s commercial activities, the DEO had assessed that rent amounting to Rs 33.10 crore was recoverable for the period from November 1991 to June 2001, based on only 2.5 per cent of the land value, as against 5 per cent adopted for determining the rent payable by another club in the same station, that was also involved in similar commercial activities, which has been discussed in paragraph 2.6.2.2.
Government’s approval for revision of rent as proposed by the DEO had not been obtained even after the lapse of over 4 years as of March 2002.
The Directorate General of Defence Estates informed Audit in September 2002 that the draft lease for the period from December 1977 onwards and rate at which damages were to be recovered from the Club had not yet been finalised by Ministry.

Cosmopolitan Club, Chennai
The Cosmopolitan Club, Chennai, had been occupying 2.327 acres of land, in the heart of the city, since July 1962/July 1965 without renewal of the earlier lease agreement which was effective only up to June 1970. The Club also unauthorisedly occupied an additional area of 3.925 acres from April 1993.

Audit scrutiny of the case disclosed the following:
Though the lease in respect of the 2.327 acres of land expired in June 1970 itself, the DEO did not take any action till September 1975 when an application from the Club for renewal of the lease beyond June 1970 was received. The matter was taken up with the Directorate General of Defence Estates only in November 1975.
The DEO brought to the notice of the Directorate General in March 1997 that the Club had been functioning as a commercial organization and rent should consequently be charged on a commercial basis. Based on 5 per cent of the land value, rent totalling Rs 3.29 crore was determined as recoverable for the period from July 1970 to March 2000, which would increase to Rs 4 crore up to June 2001.
No Lease agreement had been concluded with the Club beyond June 1970 in respect of the 2.327 acres of land initially leased to it or in respect of the 3.925 acres that had been unauthorizedly occupied since April 1993. Recovery of rent at commercial rates proposed by the DEO had also not been effected as of March 2002.
The Directorate General informed Audit in September 2002 that the question of renewal of the lease and damages to be charged from the club was under examination.
Prestigious Chennai clubs owe Rs 50 Crore rentals to MOD

Comment:
This scam is perpetuated by Politicians, Bureaucrats in connivance with the MOD and AHQ. The Sukhna Scam fades into insignificance compared to revenue loss of over Rs 50 Crore to the exchequer for a period of over 2 decades as black money has been used by vested interests to evade legitimate revenue due to the Government!

A closer look at the clubs under scrutiny reveals:
The clubs have lease agreements for a period of 30 to 60 years. Defence lands— often huge tracts given to run the clubs to ensure "betterment of Members including the Garrison Officers". One needs to zero in on the terms and conditions of the lease agreements, which are grossly violated. These are: restricting public entry and use, discriminatory membership practices, non-payment of dues, non-submission of audited accounts and earning illegal revenue by letting out premises for weddings, parties, guest rooms and Guest fees. The Garrison Officers are relegated as second class members. The managements and Governing body owes an explanation to the nation for violating the Rules of the land. Even capital gains taxes are cleverly evaded.

Besides, the management and Governing Body are minting money by hiring out premises without paying a dime for tax. It's nothing but a robbery of citizens' resources, If these conserves of the privileged governing body can be brought to the negotiating table to renew their leases at reasonable rates and made to follow terms, the bigger battle of fighting corruption in high places can be won!

Misuse of Defence Lands by Commercial agents thwarted by the High Court

Thursday, Mar 25, 2010: The Hindu
Special Correspondent: Single judge's order to permit conversion set aside
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has allowed appeals by the Cantonment Board, St. Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram, and the Defence Ministry challenging a single Judge's order directing the authorities to permit conversion of a piece of land, leased by the Defence Ministry to a person, from residential to commercial purpose.

U. Venkatesh was the lessee of 19,200 sq.ft. of land at St. Thomas Mount-cum-Pallavaram Cantonment and the lease granted was only for residential use and not commercial purpose. The conversion was not granted by the Defence Ministry. He filed petitions praying for permission to use the leasehold right for commercial purpose for 90 years by fixing and collecting annual rent and premium of the year 1997 and a direction to the Executive Officer, Cantonment Office, to sanction the building plan in his favour. He also challenged the rejection of his request for conversion of land use. By a common order the single Judge allowed the petitions.

As against the orders, the present appeals were filed. The appellants said the request for change of land use having been rejected and without obtaining the Defence Ministry's permission, approval of the building plan was sought for, which was also returned. The petitioner ought not to have commenced construction on the land for commercial purpose.

M. Ravindran, Additional Solicitor-General, submitted that the petitioner was a lessee of the land, owned by the Defence Ministry, and he was bound by the lease deed which contained a clause to use the land only for residential and not for commercial purpose.

Allowing the appeals and setting aside the single Judge's order, a Division Bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and N. Paul Vasanthakumar said the petitioner's conduct in approaching the court and obtaining an interim order without disclosing the non-grant of permission for using the land for commercial purpose and completing the building construction was illegal. The petitioner was bound by the lease agreement.

The Bench said the Supreme Court in a decision had held that buildings constructed unauthorisedly were bound to be demolished. In this case, the petitioner admittedly constructed the building without the Defence Ministry's permission regarding change of land use and also without obtaining building plan approval from the Estate Officer.
Land use conversion case: High Court allows Defence Ministry's appeals

Related article:
Gymkhana Club which is governed by civilians (though land and premises belong to the Military) now need to get licences to operate eateries within the club. The hygiene parameters are bound to improve in the clubs devoid of flies, mosquitoes, bird droppings and foul smell in the dining areas. The Military need to get back the defence lands leased to the Gymkhana Club. The lease has been renewed by corrupt and dubious means and premises used for commercial gains by the Gymkhana Governing Body whose main aim is to spin money. The above case illustrates how the lease can be revoked through court order. The Area Commander who is the Patron of Gymkhana Club should take the initiative of preserving the defence lands in his custody or else it will graduate to land Scam of Sukhna proportions.
Licences mandatory for club restaurants

Travails of ESM

Whatever may be the claims of the Army authorities and the civil administration regarding the rehabilitation and welfare of ESM, the former soldiers are at the mercy of private security agencies when it comes to getting a job.
The attitude of the political parties is also apathetic. The ESM are being hired on a contract basis for peanuts, at about Rs 2,500 per month, is outrageous.

Full story at ESM a Harried Lot

Comments
The same status prevails in all the 28 States and 7 Union Territories of India. Ninety Five percent of ESM are simple Jawans, after having served in the Armed Forces for approximately 20 years, are literally taken for ride in the civilian Job Market. The pittance paid to a honourable Soldier is despicable and the current trend needs to to be corrected. The guidelines laid down for employment of ESM, as security personnel, are flouted at all levels. The enforcing agencies have no teeth nor clout to deal with the erring State Governments. The monitoring and overseeing agency DGR should be armed with constitutional powers to streamline and reduce dishonour being meted (if not showered) to our Jawans. The outfit, attire and gear worn by Jawans employed by Security Agencies is comical at times. These are the reasons for general slide of Military prestige amongst civilian population. Can we set this straight?
On the other hand States are vying to give cash handouts to gallantry award winners ranging from mere Rs 15,000 to lavish Rs 15 lakhs (hundredfold jump). It certainly does bring out the competitive spirit amongst states, but at the expense of uniform evaluation of courage and sacrifice. This has utterly baffled and perplexed the authorities of the Armed Forces! Are the states playing truant to outwit each other or is it a political gimmick, or is it truly out of genuine concern for the welfare of the courageous Jawan. How can each State Government's magnanimity be made more meaningful if not uniform?

ECHS

Information. Latest and updated information is available ECHS News Letter at www.indianarmy.nic.in/arechs.htm. (Links are given in the "Bulletin Board" and in "useful webpages" in Report My Signal Blog)

Periodic News Letter. The next issue of News Letter and also in future, will be put on the website.

Delayed Clearance of Bills. Delayed clearance of bills is a problem mainly at a few high pressure stations due to large number of bills received from empanelled hospitals. At times hospitals delay submission of bills by upto six months. A hospital in Noida and Vellore submitted 500 and 600 bills respectively in a single day, after six months, and expected the bills to be cleared in next seven days. Many of them were inflated, thus necessitating greater effort in scrutinising. However, following measures have been initiated :-

Appointment of Consultants and Clerks from AG’s Welfare Fund at 31 high pressure stations at annual cost of Rs. 55,08,000/-.

A case has also been taken up with MOD for authorisation of consultants and clerks at these high pressure stations.

A comprehensive SOP has been prepared for timely bill processing of empanelled hospitals.

An advisory committee at each Station HQ has been constituted to regularly interact with the empanelled hospitals to resolve such issues like non-clearance of bills.

Hospitals have been advised to submit bills regularly and not to accumulate them.

MANAGING DIRECTOR ECHS

Report My Signal Team thanks MD ECHS for the latest inputs. Suggestion/ Queries in the webpage is yet to be activated.