Army officers of the Southern Command’s Pune Sub-Area on Tuesday went on the backfoot on a host of issues, from the controversial bungalow for President Pratibha Patil in Pune to encroachments of land under the Army’s command.
Speaking to the media, Major General S.K. Yadav, administration, Pune Sub-Area, said, “The ministry of defence took the decision to give the bungalow to the President. A formal communication on surrendering the land must have reached the MoD. Although construction of the bungalow is on, it is yet to be decided for what purpose the plot will be used in future (as the President has said she won’t be moving into the bungalow).”
The officer added that the plot would be used for the best interest of the Army. However, he clarified that the armed forces will have to be compensated for the land that has been encroached upon.
On the issue of encroachment upon defence land, Army officers were tightlipped on the exact number of illegally occupied acres. However, they did admit that Maharashtra is the state with the highest area of defence land being encroached upon.
Brigadier M.S. Jaswal, station commander, Pune said two options would be presented to the state government on the issue of encroached lands — either take legal course and get back the land wherever possible or legalise the plot’s development.
During the media interaction, it was also disclosed that the Pune Cantonment is falling short of land and needs more space, which the state didn’t share with the Army.