Bangalore:
The Indian Army not only has to deal with incursions on the borders but also with alleged encroachment of its lands within cities where their bases are located.
The Parachute Regiment Training Centre (PRTC) in Bangalore is one such. A local corporator has allegedly not just encroached upon its land in two separate locations adjoining HD Deve Gowda Road in RT Nagar, but also built a commercial complex and a petrol bunk there.
Documents with the PRTC officials show that a total of 27.87 guntas of land has been allegedly encroached upon by JC Nagar corporator N Govindaraju (of ward no 46).
Govindaraju claims the land is his ancestral property and insists that he is in possession of the PRTC land which had been handed over to the Central government by the Mysore State after it merged with the Indian Union in the 1950s.
"The Mysore State Force handed over 613 acres and 33 guntas of land to the government of India after the state's merger. This land which was used by the Mysore Lancers and the Mysore Infantry and given to Ministry of Defence in 1955. But over the years small portions of our lands have been encroached upon," a senior official of the PRTC told DNA.
The encroached land on which the petrol pump and commercial complex have come up fall under survey no 42 of Matadahalli and survey no 1 of Saverline villages.
The PRTC had got a survey conducted in August this year, which revealed that a petrol pump had come up on 11.43 guntas of land and that the land belongs to the defence and has been encroached.
Similarly, the survey states that there is an encroachment of 16.44 guntas in survey no 42 which also belongs to the defence, where the commercial complex has come up.
But Govindaraju has refuted the claims of PRTC. He told DNA that the disputed land is his ancestral property and that the Army authorities were using unfair means to grab the land.
"The land records and sale deeds indicate that the property is owned by my family. Besides, we have been paying property tax year after year. The Army's allegations are baseless and this was proved in the court," Govindaraju said.
He pointed out that two FIRs have already been filed against the Army after its personnel threatened to take over the land.
At present, there is a one-year injunction in the high court ordering a status quo on the situation, which means that the court has not ruled in favour of either party.
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