Allotment of War Memorial land for EV charging station opposed
At a time when national pride in the armed forces remains high due to ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan, the district administration’s decision to allocate a portion of land belonging to the State War Memorial at Dharamsala for the installation of an electric vehicle (EV) charging station has drawn criticism from Army veterans.
The proposed project will consume a significant part of the memorial’s existing parking space. The Army veterans and the local public have expressed concern, calling the move akin to “disrespecting” the memories of the soldiers who had sacrificed their lives for the country.
President of the Himachal Pradesh State War Memorial Development Society Colonel KK Dhadwal (retd.) said, “The assets of the war memorial should remain with it, irrespective of which department or agency had developed it. The proprietary rights of the memorial should be transferred to the society”. He added that the foundation stone of the memorial developed on 7.5 acres was laid on February 24, 1972, by the then Chief Minister Dr YS Parmar and it was thrown open to the public on September 28, 1977, by the then Chief Minister Shanta Kumar.
Colonel Dhadwal (retd.) said, “This memorial honours the war heroes of the hill state who had laid down their lives while defending the honour of our country during aggressions by Pakistan in 1947-1948, by China in 1962 and again by Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil war), besides, peacekeeping operations in Sri Lanka. The names of the martyrs have been inscribed on three curved walls made of black marble here.”
This war memorial constructed in a forest area having tall pine trees, beautiful gardens and a walking track was managed by the Public Works Department and the district administration for about 24 years before it was handed over to the War Memorial Development Society in 2001. Since then, the administrative control of the memorial is with this society run by Army veterans.
In 2022, all of a sudden, the district administration acquired a portion of the war memorial’s land to set up an EV charging station. The disputed land measuring about 325 square yards has been handed over to the Transport Department, which has signed an agreement with Reliance Jio Company to set up an EV charging station.
The office-bearers of the society, JWO KC Thakur and Colonel Kartar Singh (retd), revealed that a few days ago, officials of Reliance Jio company and the Transport Department came to the war memorial to take the possession of the disputed land but owing to strong opposition by the Army veterans, they returned. “We will not allow a private company to build an EV charging station on the premises of the war memorial,” they added.
District Magistrate Hemraj Bairwa said that the disputed land was acquired and transferred to the Transport Department two years ago. However, the Army veterans started raising objections recently.
