Army chooses digitisation armour to fight land scams

After a series of alleged scams involving defence land, Southern Command administration along with local military authorities (LMAs) and defence estates officers (DEOs) has taken up compilation of defence land records to prepare a compendium of defence land records. Southern Command authorities have also decided to undertake the process of digitisation of defence land data with the help of geographic information system (GIS)-based software.

The multi-crore Adarsh Society scam in Mumbai had rocked the country. Cases of alleged scam involving defence land in Pune have also been reported.

In 2011, Central Bureau of Investigation’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBI-ACB) had arrested a builder, retired defence estate officer for allegedly cheating the defence authorities by falsely claiming about 69 acres of defence land worth Rs800 crore in Lohegaon.

Earlier this year also, CBI had raided the houses of former vice chief of army staff Lt Gen (retd) Noble Thamburaj, former defence estate officer of Pune circle SR Nayyar and the offices of Kalpataru builders for alleged irregularities in the development of defence land in Pune Cantonment.

In the wake of these alleged scams, Southern Command has decided to carry out the survey of the defence land falling under its jurisdiction.

Southern Command administration officer Maj Gen SK Yadav said, “Southern Command is spread over 19 cantonments and 31 military stations with land holding of over 7.5 lakh acres.

Administration feels that precise land records are a prerequisite for safe custody of the land and therefore we have taken up the initiative of updating and compiling all the land records to prepare compendium of defence land records.”

The army official said that the authorities have also decided to undertake digitisation of the land data with the use of GIS-based software along with satellite images and annotation of survey numbers.

“Certain area of land in active occupation of the army has not been mutated in favour of the Ministry of Defence in the revenue records. Therefore, we are taking action for recording the defence land in revenue records,” Yadav said. He said that action has been taken officers involved in malpractices.