Against the backdrop of Adarsh Housing Society and Sukna land scams, Defence Ministry officials on Monday came under intense scrutiny from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) which wanted to know the deadline by when records of Defence lands will be streamlined.
Officials from Defence Ministry, Army, Navy and Air Force led by Additional Secretary Anuj Kumar Bishnoi told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that a Defence records preservation centre will start functioning in New Delhi on June 15.
Another such centre, where old Defence records will be computerised, will be ready in Pune by March, 2013.
Members of the Committee were critical of the fact that despite being the "land lord" of 17.31 lakh acres of land across the country, there was no policy to maintain records.
Defence Ministry officials said "Raksha Bhoomi" programme was launched recently and all records will be put on hard disks.
The officials admitted that so far complete verification of such records have not been carried out.
Members also expressed concern over the fact that 80 thousand acre of Defence land has been encroached illegally. |