Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is a state-owned defense company which was established on 1st October 1964. The company has its headquarters in Bengaluru. HAL has its origin as the Hindustan Aircrafts Limited which was established on 23rd December 1940 at Bengaluru by Shri.Walchand Hirachand. HAL functions under the control of the Ministry of Defence.
HAL is in the business of manufacturing, designing and repairing aircraft, helicopters and related systems like avionics, instruments, and accessories.
In the year 1963, the State Government of Odisha allotted 12,000 acres of land belonging to 11 villages including Kakigaon, Chikapur, Khaliput, Chakriliput and Kodinga to HAL [1]. However, HAL utilized only 3121 acres of land and it further handed over 6,000 acres to Cobra Battalion and the Central University of Odisha. Currently, 2918 acres of land under HAL is been kept unused. It is also been observed that HAL failed to properly rehabilitate the villagers whom land they acquired in 1963.
According to Comptroller Auditor General (CAG), in Koraput about 50 acres of land held by the HAL division is under encroachment by the local villagers for over 25 years [2]. HAL planned to construct boundary walls to protect their land, but the work couldn’t complete due to opposition from local villagers and delay in clearance from National Highway Authorities.
In the year 1985, HAL acquired 11 acres of land at Belur, Vibuthpura and Vibuthpura in Bengaluru. Therefore, slums existed on the land acquired by HAL. However, HAL identified alternative land for the rehabilitation of slum-dwellers but failed to evict them. As a result, 11 acres of land acquired by HAL remained under encroachment as on March 2015.
| # | City | Area (acre) | Value (₹ crore) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhubaneshwar | 2918.53 | 5,905 |
| 2 | Nashik | 1.34 | 3 |
| 3 | Koraput | 50.21 | 102 |
| 4 | Bengaluru | 11.96 | 130 |
| Total | 2982.04 acre | ₹ 6,140 crore | |
Around 2982 acres of land held under HAL is either kept unused or is under encroachment across the country. The total value of misused land held under HAL is around ₹ 6,140 crore. This is a conservative value of the land which is being misused by HAL at the expense of the development of people of the country. If these land-parcels get freed-up from the control of HAL, then it can be put to many productive purposes. Refer to the map and accompanying table for details.
If these large chunks of misused land held by HAL are monetized then each Indian household may set to gain at least ₹ 245
