Gujarat: Firing range at DSIR for dvpt and testing of weapons soon

A firing range for weapons will soon come up at the Dholera Special Investment Region (DSIR) in Gujarat. The Government of Gujarat has given the clearance for its setup for and has over 200-square kilometres of land has been earmarked.

On Thursday, during the Gujarat Aviation Conclave 2019, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Ahmedabad, Air Marshal RK Dhir advisor of Defence and aerospace, Government of Gujarat, said, "We have obtained the initial clearances from the government and the land will be used by Indian Army and Indian Air force for testing weapons. Even the private companies who are into manufacturing weapons will be allowed to use it as a testing ground."

A 200-square kilometre of land located near to the coastal area has been designated for setting up the firing range. The land is largely owned by the state government. Private players who holdsa shared in the area will be compensated by the government.

Jaiprakash Shivhare(IAS), Managing Director of Dholera Industrial City Development said, "We are going to develop the firing range on the request of the Indian Army. The range will come up in a 5km wide and 25km long patch. which will be used for testing weapons. We have gotten a principle approval from the Government of Gujarat"

"Once the firing range is operational, it will become easy for companies to start a manufacturing unit here. Initially, we were looking at two sites — one in Kutch and the other in Dholera. Later we zeroed it on Dholera," said Shivhare.