213 acres of defence land in Ambala expected to be under civic limits

Ambala, June 10

The Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, is expected to bring about 213 acres of defence land in Ambala Cantonment under its limits to ensure better amenities and infrastructure. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had requested the inclusion of Topkhana Parade, Risala Bazar, Himmatpura and Dudhala Mandi into the civic limits.

Although most of the land is under the possession of the Army, against which Rs 900 crore has been sought, the Ambala Cantonment Board still has assets worth over Rs 41 crore, including tubewells and a school, on about 13 acres.

The Cantonment Board has already passed a resolution agreeing to the excision of the designated areas and does not object to the inclusion in the civic limits. Nominated civilian member of the board Ajay Baweja, former vice-president of the board, said, “However, this decision will decrease the area of the Ambala Cantonment Board and the number of wards will reduce from eight to seven, resulting in a downgrade from grade A to grade B, which will also affect the budget of the board. Nonetheless, the inclusion will benefit thousands of people as these areas lack adequate development. The decision will be made by the Ministry of Defence after it has been forwarded to the higher authorities.” —TNS

20 acres of land for civil airport project

• Earlier, a piece of land on which the Cantonment Board had a guest house was taken by the state government for a cancer centre
• Now, 20 acres of defence land is being taken for the civil airport project
• Another chunk of defence land on the Jagadhri road has been identified for the construction of an auditorium, similar to Indradhanush Auditorium in Panchkula