Residents of the camp area in Belagavi have urged the Union government to transfer all civilian areas inside the military cantonment to the city corporation. The cantonment board officers however, want to transfer only select areas, which is not in line with the directions issued by the Ministry Of Defence (MOD), they say.
For over a century, these areas have been governed by the cantonment board, though the civic amenities are provided by the local municipal corporation. But they are set to be transferred to the urban local bodies, as per the decision taken by the MOD in June.
The Belagavi Cantonment Residents’ Welfare Association has complained that the board officials in Belagavi were hesitant to transfer such areas, despite the MOD decision. They have sent letters to the MOD officials, the State government and the district administration, regarding this issue.
Letter to DC
Omar Farooq Nawab, president of the association, and Ranjan Shetty, secretary, have urged Mohammad Roshan, Deputy Commissioner, to protect their interests by urging the board officers to follow the June 26 order of MOD. In a letter to the DC, the association said that at a meeting held on Saturday, the board CEO Rajeev Kumar had agreed to transfer only 112 acres of the 1763 acres of notified civilian area land to the Belagavi city corporation. “Members of Parliament Jagadish Shettar and Iranna Kadadi and MLA Asif (Raju) Sait had objected to this proposal. However, the board CEO Rajveev Kumar has sent a report to the MOD without mentioning the objections. This amounts to the presumption that the elected representatives have agreed to the proposal. But this is far from truth,” the letter said.
Mr. Shettar told The Hindu that he had objected to the selective transfer of areas. “When we asked the board officers why they are not transferring all civil areas, they said they were willing to transfer only around 112 acres of bazaar area and other public assets that are already in the possession of the State government. This was because the board officers were confused about defining civil areas. I asked them why we were invited to the meeting if the officers were to insist that their point of view was right. We asked them to record our objections. I will take up the matter with the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh,” Mr. Shettar said.
Mr. Kadadi said that the officers had to obey the MOD order and could not take any decision based on their discretion. “We have asked them to call another meeting soon. We will make our point clear there,” he said.
Academician Nitin Khot who is a resident of the cantonment area, has urged the Union and State governments to ensure that the MOD order on excision of civil areas in cantonments was properly implemented in Belagavi.
“Irrespective of whether civil areas are transferred or not, the State government and city corporation is duty bound to provide all municipal services and amenities including power and water, conservancy, roads, cleaning and other services. If the State government accepts the transfer of 112 acres now, the board will end the issue and retain the rest. The tax collected from 112 acres will be meagre and does not match the expenses incurred on providing amenities to the whole area. This will put a hole in the city corporation’s finances and it will have to depend on State government grants. It is wise to reject the offer of 112 acres, as it is not in the long-term interest of the city and the State,” Dr. Khot said.
Mr. Roshan said he would take up relevant issues at a meeting of concerned officials on Tuesday.