Defence lands given on lease for commercial purposes: Antony

NEW DELHI: The government on Monday said it gives defence lands on lease basis for various commercial purposes like petrol pumps, banks and advertisement hoardings.

"Instructions have been issued from time to time for giving defence lands on lease basis for various commercial purposes like petrol pumps, banks, advertisement hoardings etc," Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha in reply to a written query.

There exists a system of under which Defence officers check whether rules have been adhered to while leasing out the land for commercial purposes, he said while replying to a question on commercial use of defence lands.

To another question, he said Defence Procurement Procedure-2011 provides for expeditious procurement of defence equipment by following a fast track procedure.

"To counter systemic and institutional delays, procedure and processes are continuously refined on basis of experience gained during the procurement process," Antony said.