Punjab is among the 23 States that have failed to issue public notice legalising land usage restrictions around military land imposed by the Central government way back in April 1983.

The indifference of states may prove costly as last month’s inferno at Pakistan’s Sialkot ammunition dump points out to similar serious vulnerability that defence establishments and people in their vicinity are exposed to in India.

Over 9,600 acres of defence estate have been encroached in different parts of the country due to vested interests of civil and military personnel. The large-scale defence land encroachment has reduced separation between civilian areas and the ammunition storage, and other critical facilities of the armed forces spread across States.

Security threat

The encroachments are violations of the civil land law and Works of Defence Act (WoDA), 1903, which prescribes land usage restrictions around critical defence estate for safety of people and to address security concerns. Punjab, said defence ministry sources, has ignored the directive despite court decision that encroachments around arms depot 17 FAD Baddowal in Ludhiana should be removed.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in 2009, had passed an order saying that all constructions prior 1983 be demolished with compensation and those post that year be brought down without any monetary incentive, said ministry sources. “Even if State government /district administration does not issue the notification of WoDa, WoDA is deemed to have been applied once the central government issues the gazette notification,” the Court stated in its July 2009 judgment.

The petitioners approached the Supreme Court in December of 2013 against the High Court order but the army took the stand that restrictions cannot be diluted. Still nothing has moved in Punjab, insist ministry sources.

The gazette notification of January 31, 1983 declared restrictions upto 1,000 yards around 17 FAD under WoDA but it was never promulgated by the Punjab government. The Pakistan bordering State, which is under perennial security threat, also has major arms depot in Vallah of Amritsar and another in Bhatinda.

Clearance zones

The defence land is kept free from buildings and other constructions for security reasons and to prevent collateral damage to civilians in case of a fire accident and explosion of the dangerous materials stored therein.

There are three clearance zones of 2,000/ 1,000/ 500 yards which are notified under WoDA:

• A Class Zone. Upto 2,000 yards from the work, no construction above the ground shall be erected without approval.

• B Class Zone. Upto 1,000 yards from the work, in addition to clause (a), hedges, trees or orchards shall not be planted without approval.

• C Class Zone. Upto 500 yards from the work, in addition to clauses (a) & (b), no excavation or construction below the surface, shall be maintained or erected without approval.

Of the 65 WoDA notified establishments of army, State governments have issued public notice for only 42 of them.

The States are insensitive to serious possible threat even though six years ago 17 security personnel had died due to massive fire that ravaged the ammunition depot in Maharashtra's Pulgaon, considered to be one of the biggest in Asia. The defence facilities and installations such as Supply and Fuel Depots, Aviation Bases, Signal Towers and specified military installations stare at similar scare due to continued encroachments.

Rajan Katoch, director, former Enforcement Directorate, who had headed an inquiry committee to probe Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam, told BusinessLine that "there is a need to look into larger dimension of encroachment of defence land".

The Mumbai High Court appointed committee had revealed deep rooted nexus among the military establishment and civil officials in its report on Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam. Apart from indicting officials involved in the scam, it had also suggested various suggestions including plugging legal lacunae.

In 2018, the centre had completed survey of 17.78 lakh acres of defence land which is managed by the Defence Estate.

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