Railways to disband regiment, monetise prime land

As reported by The Indian Express, the railway engineer regiment stationed in Chandigarh is being disbanded and the officers and jawans of the unit have challenged the orders in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Panchkula green cover and wildlife, chandigarh green cover and wildlife, Panchkula, Punjab and Haryana High Court, Indian Express, India news, current affairs

The regiment in Chandigarh will be disbanded on April 23.

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The railways have decided to commercialise a prime piece of land, measuring around 65 acres, on road connecting Chandigarh and Panchkula, with dense green cover and wildlife, which will fall vacant after the disbanding of the 1101 Railway Engineer Regiment of Territorial Army (TA) later this month.

As reported by The Indian Express, the railway engineer regiment stationed in Chandigarh is being disbanded and the officers and jawans of the unit have challenged the orders in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The regiment is located on the Madhya Marg, close to Kalagram, which is a major arterial road connecting Chandigarh to Panchkula.

The regiment, which was scheduled to be disbanded by March 31, 2023, will now be disbanded on April 23. Apart from the railway engineer regiment that is headquartered on this 64.92-acre land, there is also a substantial area which serves as training grounds. Further, as in many military areas, there is dense forest cover on the land including trees like keekar, neem, eucalyptus, arjun, silver oak, amla (gooseberry), mulberry (shehtoot) and jamun. The forest is also home to various species of birds and animals including blue buck, peacock and wild boar.

Documents show the railway board has entrusted the land parcel on this stretch of Chandigarh-Panchkula highway to the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) for monetisation and subsequent commercial use.

The exchange of letters between various officials of the railways shows that plans were being made in 2019 itself. A letter dated September 2019 from the Chief General Manager, Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (now wound up), to the Administrative Officer of the 1101 Railway Engineers Regiment referred to the commercialisation of railway land and transfer/relocation of the regiment’s assets.

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