HP Govt to raise Annandale issue at civil-military conference

The Annandale ground issue, which had become a bone of contention between the Himachal Pradesh government and the Army, and shifting of an Army ammunition depot, is likely to figure at the annual Civil-Military Liaison Conference to be held here on May 21.
The 121-bigha ground, surrounded by thick forests just 4.5 km from Shimla's Ridge, had become the apple of discord between the government and the Army amid an intensified campaign launched by Himachal Pradesh Cricket association headed by Anurag Thakur, MP and son of Dhumal, to restore it to the state authorities.
The matter ended only after the Defence Ministry made it clear that it could not part with Annandale ground as it was of strategic importance for the Army.

While the Army had been insisting that possession of the ground was important from strategical point of view and critical for the defence requirements, the state government is in no mood to sign a fresh lease, an official spokesman said.
Army will continue to maintain the ground and use it for emergency mock drills or other operations and an understanding had been reached at between Chief Minister and Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, who had met him in January last, the spokesman informed.
The Army had all along been objecting to the use of the ground by the civil administration and also tourism department.

The state government would also raise the issue of shifting the ammunition Depot of the Army in Kinnaur district to facilitate execution of 450 MW Shongton Karcham project at the conference to be presided over by the Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.