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Punjab wants land
freebie back from Sainik school
WSN Network
 KAPURTHALA:
This is a debate that many sides will try to stretch in manu
directions, but on the key question of equal opportunities, why
should a school have 162 acres of prime land and great heritage
property while others should lack a roof for the class rooms? But
till the country is prepared to see equality in such harsh,
no-frills terms, perhaps this is as good as it could have got.
The Punjab Government has asked the Indian Defence Ministry to
return 162 acres of land belonging to Sainik School, Kapurthala,
along with the 100-year-old palace of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh in
which the classes are held, to build a luxury heritage hotel on the
property.
The communiqué from Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to
Union Defence Minister A.K. Antony proposes that the 46-year-old
school can continue to function in the remaining 30 acres.
Opponents of the move scrambled fast to build up arguments against
it, one being that the intake of youth from Punjab in the officer
cadre of the defence forces has seen a sharp decline. There are many
old school tie barons now sitting in key positions in defence and
civil services that efforts to torpedo the move are widely expected
to succeed.
The state government had given 192 acres of land on lease to the
Defence Ministry in 1961 for the Sainik School premises, of which it
now wants 162 acres returned. The
remaining property, the government says, may continue to be used for
the school. How was the figure of 162 acres arrived at is still not
known.
Union Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju is scheduled to
visit Punjab on March 15 and the issue is likely to get in limelight
at that time. Sainik schools were conceived in 1961 by then defence
minister Krishna Menon to rectify the regional and class imbalances
among the officer cadre of the Indian armed forces.
Punjab AG H.S. Mattewal, known for his closeness to de facto top
power center Sukhbir Singh Badal, has already aligned himself with
one line of argument. He said he would impress upon Badals not to
take over school land for the hotel.
12
March 2008
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