Pb govt to set up committee to resolve land issue with forces

The Punjab government has decided to set up a committee to resolve issues relating to acquisition of land for setting up military facilities in the state and another to address infrastructural and garbage dumping problems around the Chandigarh air station.
The decision was taken during a liaison meeting between the civil and military administration here today with top government and army officials participating in the parleys.
A slew of decisions, aimed at sorting out various ongoing issues and preparing a mechanism to address any such issues that may crop up later, were taken during the meeting which also saw the participation of Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh after 12 years.

The committees will meet regularly to take timely decisions, an official spokesperson said after the meeting, adding that the officials of the government and the armed forces would be part of the panels.
The committee proposed to be set up to look into the Chandigarh airport problems would be headed by the Civil Aviation Secretary and would also have a representative of the airport authorities, he said.
Problems related to acquisition of land for various facilities for the armed forces, development of access roads and railways crossings at strategic places, bird menace arising out of dumping of garbage around Air Force stations, illegal mining and storage around vital installations, among others figured during the meeting.

The Punjab chief minister expressed concern that various issues raised by the armed forces had not been resolved yet.

He cited the case of ammunition depots which were established many years ago but the manifold growth of Punjab necessitated a relook in the context of the current situation.
The latter came up in the context of non-promulgation of gazette notification with respect to ammunition depots at Dappar and Naaingarh in Punjab.
The armed forces informed the government that the failure to issue the notification had made it difficult to stop proliferation of construction activity in the vicinity of the Ammunition Depots.

Meanwhile, the state government said it would issue the notification once the discrepancies found in revenue records of the areas were removed.
According to the spokesperson, the General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C), Western Command, Lt Gen Surinder Singh and the chief minister suggested formation of a joint committee of mid-level officers to meet on a a quarterly basis, instead of once a year, to resolve all issues relating to land acquisition/exchange.
Government officials informed the meeting that one of the key demands of the military for acquisition of 388 acres of 5 kanal and 13 marla land to strength security around Air Force station, Barnala, had been pending due to delay in release of funds to PWD to compensation for construction of a new road post acquisition.

The issue of acquisition of 5 Bighas and 9 Biswas land in village Bhabat, for passage of Air Force between air force stations at Chandigarh and Highgrounds, was also under consideration and the process would be initiated once the government approval comes, the meeting was further apprised.
The meeting also discussed the military's concern regarding throwing of mud and cowdung heaps, as well as illegal constructions in the notified area, affecting security of Chandigarh airport and impeding movement of vehicles through emergency exits.
Besides removing the mud and cowdung from the spot, the Mohali district authorities have put a stop on further unauthorised constructions in the Jagatpur and Kandala villages.

The armed forces also expressed concern over drainage connectivity for Air Force Station Chandigarh, with the airport getting flooded quite frequently during monsoons.
The authorities in Mohali and Zirakpur had already initiated work to ensure regular cleaning of the drains as well as removal of illegal encroachments that had led to blockage of drains.
It was also decided to set up a committee, under the Secretary, Civil Aviation, to resolve the problem of dumping of garbage at Kambali village, which was causing increase in bird activities and resulting in serious flight safety hazard for operations at the Chandigarh airbase.
The committee would comprise army officers, airport director and officials of the Punjab government.