50 yrs on,Defence gets back only 38 of 428 acres it gave

On August 16,1963,the then Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan and then state chief minister Marotrao Kannamwar signed a deal handing over 428 acres of Defence land at Mundhwa and Bhosari to the state government for industrial development.

On August 16,1963,the then Defence Minister Yashwantrao Chavan and then state chief minister Marotrao Kannamwar signed a deal handing over 428 acres of Defence land at Mundhwa and Bhosari to the state government for industrial development. The state government was supposed to compensate for this land elsewhere under the Pune Package Deal (PPD). But 50 years later,the deal seems to have been forgotten with only 38 out of 428 acres being transferred to Defence till date.

“We have been raising the issue at the civil-military liaison conferences. The land which has been offered by the district administration is found unsuitable by the military authorities and vice versa,” said G S Rajeswaran,Defence Estates Officer (DEO),Pune Circle.

Here is a look at the permutations and combinations of the deal as per the district collectorate letter dated December 16,2008. About 38 acres at Yerawada has been handed over to the defence authorities and is in possession of the Defence. About 343 acres at Kelgaon in Khed taluka is being used by Defence as ammunition dump but is in the name of the forest department. A 4-acre common grazing ground in Alandi is partly held by the defence authorities. An adjacent 55-acre plot is also partly held by the defence,but is in the name of one Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Sansthan.

Story continues below this ad

The complicated case of land allotment doesn’t end here. About 94 acres in Kalas and 146 acres in Dehu was been transferred in the name of the Defence in 2000-01. Even 11 years later,the possession has not been transferred to the Defence. Apparently,these two plots have not been taken over by Defence,citing the unacceptable conditions of transfer which make defence the secondary title holder of the land besides imposing restrictions on construction. It also says the rights of mining on this land remains with the Government of Maharashtra besides others. To add to the challenges,title of 12 acres of land at Dehu is disputed with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL).

When added,the total area comes to 684 acres,about 256 acres more than the acreage to be transferred. The topic has been raised at almost all the bi-annual civil military liaison meetings and has been adding paper work at the collectorate as well as DEO. District collector Vikas Deshmukh said,”This is a long pending issue. A meeting was held with the divisional commissioner about a month and a half ago in which points regarding PPD were raised. There are a number of issues regarding various plots involved. It is a big case.” Commenting on unacceptable conditions pertaining to Dehu and Kalas,he said,”Transfers will be done in accordance with the land rules laid down by the revenue department and there is no question of individual acceptances or rejections.”

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories