tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post8505235547899719030..comments2024-03-27T17:16:12.789+05:30Comments on The Leap Blog: Defence land: A key dimension of India's privatisation problemAjay Shahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03835842741008200034noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-23123002765384878572016-10-18T12:03:47.335+05:302016-10-18T12:03:47.335+05:30The so called prime lands were not in great demand...The so called prime lands were not in great demand when the armed forces occupied them.Now after almost a hundred years,these lands look like gold mines.See the growth of Cochin,Jam Nagar, Visakhapatnam or for that matter any military station.At least the faujis maintain greenery.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970642644009001521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-28472480631366511702011-04-08T01:20:32.322+05:302011-04-08T01:20:32.322+05:30First, just for the sake of avoiding confusion (ju...First, just for the sake of avoiding confusion (just in case there is any): Vijay Kelkar does not propose moving defence establishments! Read the paper!<br />It would be shocking if it were otherwise!!!<br />Second, consider this: (hypothetically) India relocates its entire defence establishment (Army, Navy and Air Force) to the deserts of Rajasthan/Gujarat and adjoining coastline (Gujarat has India's largest coastline among all Indian States). The trouble is: India's biggest threat comes from China. And luckily Indian politicians and military strategists are not as hare-brained as some would think. That's the reason that 40% of India's troops are under the Eastern Command (headquarters: Fort William, Kolkata).<br />3. Essential Reading for Dr Ajay Shah: Enemy at the Gates : The Battle for Stalingrad. If he has any doubts about how important urban installations and urban warefare is then this should convince him. <br />4. It would help if Dr. Ajay Shah does not think of profiting from insurance (defence). That's precisely the mindset of those who bought ULIPs! Maybe he will be able to understand now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-12257698543769857962011-04-06T15:07:59.218+05:302011-04-06T15:07:59.218+05:30@Atul Jain : Well put, if the execution of these i...@Atul Jain : Well put, if the execution of these ideas were well executed then it would make sense. But TII(This is India)we cannot stop being greedy. <br /><br />Defence has excess land because cities in India have evolved around locations which had high British Army concentration(exceptions do exist).<br />Now most of the military locations do not need a committee to go green. They generally are Green. So selling all this land to make trillions of Rupees and making a concrete jungle seems less justified.<br /><br />I see some of the plots on which work is being done in cities like Pune and Bangalore where the land is first made bald(culling trees, destroying the top soil...) and then worked on to build high rises, followed by planting few samplings and grass, a scenery of cement and grass. That is not happening.<br /><br />Also why are our cities growing beyond what they can actually sustain? Should we not shift outside the realms of few chosen cities and bring up the so called Tier II and Tier III cities. Just a thought.tribecahippiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08866505320746553937noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-4706041082142392772011-04-05T13:26:53.056+05:302011-04-05T13:26:53.056+05:30This is one of those ideas which sound very good b...This is one of those ideas which sound very good because you aren't looking at the bigger picture. A classic case of losing the forest for the trees.<br /><br />You also need to realise that there is a huge shortage of officers in the armed forces in India. And postings in/near urban areas is one of the things which the officers look forward to, For most army officers the first few years they end up being posted high-stress postings in J&K/NorthEast. So these postings help make up for the years spent isolation from the civilian population and allow them to spend time with their family in a "normal" environment.<br /><br />If joining the armed forces means you are going to spend the whole of your life in the boondocks where is the motivation for officers to join/continue to serve in the services?<br /><br />@vikramhegde The question isn't would the Generals consent to raising their progeny in Tembhli, how many Indians would(asprire to) move to Tembhli and do the same? 100% EOU software units are just as aloof from the local population and have minimum interaction with the local businesses. So why not ask/force an Infosys or Wipro to move to Tembhli?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-10245322663674813202011-04-05T00:09:26.830+05:302011-04-05T00:09:26.830+05:30Free up the Defence land, collect a lot of money ....Free up the Defence land, collect a lot of money .. trillions in this case, and give our politicians a chance to become wealthy and rich while selling that land to private parties. That seems a good idea, very similar to the scams made by our politicians while selling defence spectrum to telecom operators. Defence has a strong case against privatisation of any of the defence asset by government. Do we have the system which can guarantee that there will be no scam again?Atul Jainnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-28432619871693058722011-04-04T12:59:06.078+05:302011-04-04T12:59:06.078+05:30Also, the diversification argument: a nuclear bomb...Also, the diversification argument: a nuclear bomb on bombay wont wipe out your naval base at the same time..?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649274.post-975750408042809912011-04-03T21:14:32.817+05:302011-04-03T21:14:32.817+05:30Sir, there is a episode of Yes, Prime Minister whe...Sir, there is a episode of Yes, Prime Minister where Jim Hacker the Prime Minister of England suggests the very same thing (Over there they suggest they sell military properties in London and move them to the North of England). But the plan gets thwarted because the bureaucrats heading the Labour and Defence ministries and the cabinet secretary conspire against this. Their interest in the matter is beautifully depicted when one of them says "The Generals couldn't afford to miss Wimbledon, their wives wouldn't stand being sent so far away from Harrods". I'm afraid this is very much the case in India. The Army holds on to this land precisely for the same reason the private sector is willing to pay big money for it. They have all the conveniences of big cities at hand when they set up base here. Would the Lt. Generals consent to bringing up their progeny in say Tembhli(Where the first UIDAI was given)? Of course political will is needed to push this through, but political will is rarer than platinum in our country.vikramhegdehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11067589847425779878noreply@blogger.com