Stop registering defence bungalows in Pune & Khadki Cantts: Defence Estate Directorate to IGR

The decision was taken to keep a check on illegal transfer of national and defence assets worth thousands of crores, officials said

The Director of Defence Estates (Southern Command) has expressed concerns that certain bungalows/house properties have exchanged hands in violation of rules and asked the Inspector General of Registration (IGR) to refrain from registering such defence properties in Pune and Khadki Cantonments.

Pune Cantonment has approximately 300 bungalows, a few schools and clubs like Turf Club (in pic), New Poona Club etc, both leased out by the Ministry of Defence. (HT PHOTO)

The decision was taken to keep a check on illegal transfer of national and defence assets worth thousands of crores, officials said.

The current director of Defence Estates (Southern Command), Saurav Ray, who exposed the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society scam in 2011 and forced the Congress leader Ashok Chavan to resign as chief minister, signed the letter dated December 6.

The letter addressed to Hiralal Sonawane, IGR, Maharashtra, states: “It has been noticed with serious concern that in many cases, bungalows, house properties on defence land (Class B-3 lease and old grant sites) have been transferred and sold unauthorizedly by lessees/occupiers of old grant bungalows to individuals/private individuals and builders without approval of competent authority, government of India. It is for your kind information that lease and old grant properties cannot be sold/transferred without approval of government authority.”

“Whatever registrations have taken place in the past are after getting requisite permissions from the central government. Otherwise, the provision is such that defence estate properties cannot be registered,” said Sonawane.

Pune Cantonment has approximately 300 bungalows, a few schools and clubs like Turf Club, New Poona Club etc, both leased out by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to private persons or educational institutes mainly for 30 years lease extendable up to 90 years.

As per norms, the land inside the cantonment area cannot be sold and only the superstructure can be sold or transferred after prior approval of the Defence Estates officer (DEO) or MoD.

Ray further urged the IGR to “inform and sensitize” all registrars and sub-registrars that no such sale of lease and old grant properties on defence land inside cantonment areas should be registered and such cases be brought to the notice of concerned officials.

Subrat Pal, chief executive officer, Pune Cantonment Board, said, “These bungalows/house properties come under the jurisdiction of DEO office for mutation and transfer. We have no role in that except that these properties come under our municipal jurisdiction.”

Most bungalows in the area are colonial era and the British mainly gave these leases to missionary organisations running churches, and clubs. Some of these bungalows were also given on lease to Parsi businessmen.

In the old grant bungalows, Britishers allotted huge land to private people associated with them as a grant to build bungalows and other buildings. More than one and half centuries back, the city population, particularly the cantonment area was small and huge tracts of land were available almost for free.

PCB officials said leaseholders of old grant bungalows were barred from carrying out any additions, alterations and conversions. However, some have been converted into commercial establishments, hotels, shopping malls and different types of revenue-generating enterprises.

Some properties, according to PCB officials, have changed many hands in the past and are presently being run for commercial and other purposes.

The mismanagement of such bungalows has led to loss of government revenue apart from entanglement of government in lots of avoidable litigation.

The Public Accounts Committee, Lok Sabha in 2013 had noted that the land policy of 1982 and the revised land policy of 1995 have provisions for dealing with such sites and resuming/leasing of such old grant bungalows by the government, and no alteration of any kind is allowed on such sites. However, the committee finds a large number of unauthorized constructions, and unauthorized sale/transfer is happening right under the nose of the DEOs concerned.

Also, the committee observes that various educational institutions are being run illegally, thereby flouting all norms relating to the management of old grant bungalows and exposing apparent collusion between vested interests and the concerned authorities.