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However, in the subsequent years, the finance ministry had repeatedly objected to setting up the fund. In theВ interim Budget of 2003-2004, the then Union finance minister Jaswant Singh had announced such a fund of Rs 25,000 crore, which would be made available to the MoD. To be sure, however, the concept of a non-lapsable defence modernisation fund is not new.

In a country where land is extremely scarce, it is tempting for political parties to `encroach uponвЂ™ or `useвЂ™ defence land for developmental purposes.ДЄdded to the huge land holdings, the armed forces also have veto powers on land sale or construction activities near their stations on grounds of security. Camping grounds, abandoned cantonments, ranges, and even discarded airfields of Second World War vintage constitute defence lands, which according to one estimate totals land area of up to five Delhis вЂ“ old, new and rural areas - put together!ДЇrom the famous sprawling maidan in front of Victoria Memorial in Kolkata to the huge Delhi Cantonment and Navy Nagar in tony South Mumbai hill stations like Dalhousie, Lansdowne, Kasauli and the NilgirisвЂ“ to name just a few - are owned by the Ministry of Defence and its allied organizations. There are substantial military lands outside the Cantonments. Garden Reach Workshops Kolkata and Mazagon Docks Mumbai, among others and the vast Border Roads Organization, which has constructed over 50,000 km of roads. This, mind you, does not include lands with the public sector units (PSUs) under the MoD, including Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Bharat Dynamic Ltd, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.

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Given the outrage that followed, however, he tempered the statement saying that cantonments will not be scrapped.ДЄccording to the Directorate General Defence Estates, the MoD has about 17.95 lakh acres of which about 16.35 lakh acres are outside the 62 cantonments in the country. In 1991, the then Defence Minister Sharad Pawar was the first to moot the idea of abolishing cantonments, 'these remnants of a colonial past' so that 'excess land' could be utilised.

Politicians and developers have long waited to transform the lush green expanse of endless defence land into glass-and-concrete boom towns. Most agree that it was only a question of time before the defence sector вЂ“ the biggest landowner in India вЂ“ would face acquisition issues. The DMA had also highlighted that the capital budget of the defence forces is inadequate to meet their committed liabilities and objected to 50 per cent of the funds from defence land monetisation going to the Consolidated Fund of India, as the Ministry of Finance has suggested. Bipin Rawat, had told the government last year that proceeds from defence land monetisation would be hardlyВ adequate to meet the armed forcesвЂ™ requirements. The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), headed by Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. 'You can monetise the land if the army is not using it and provided, they are given alternate land,вЂќ Panag told Moneycontrol.Д«ut in his reckoning, the estimated money that the government may earn from monetisation of land would barely suffice. Now it seems, it is happening.вЂќДЄll along the GT Road - from Delhi to Peshawar for instance вЂ“ there are camping grounds and old depots that are not in use any longer, built by the British Indian Army during the Second World War when troops had to be moved from one place to the other. Says Lt Gen HS Panag (Retd): ``Since defence lands are in the most prime areas all over the country, over the years, politicians and civic officials have demanded that they be used for undertaking developmental activities. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has pegged monetising defence land as the only way to generate revenue for the proposed non-lapsable modernisation fund.ДЄccording to officials, a draft cabinet note on setting up the defence modernisation fund is currently undergoing inter-ministerial consultations, and a final decision is expected soon, following which it will be placed before the Union cabinet for approval. There are connected moves on the governmental chessboard as well. According to the new regulations, the value of land would be determined by a committee headed by the local military authority вЂ“ in cases under cantonment zones.ДЇor land outside cantonments, the district magistrate will decide on the rate. They include building units and roads, among other projects. Pharma Industry Conclave Unlocking opportunities in Metal and Mining.India Inc On The Move Sustainability 100+.

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