The Ministry of Defence has objected to the Kozhikode Corporation’s decision not to seek a No-Objection Certificate from the Ministry for construction activities beyond 10 metres from the defence compound (barracks) in West Hill in Kozhikode.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Mayor Beena Philip following repeated complaints from local residents that the Defence Ministry was not permitting construction work near the barracks. It was noted at the meeting that NOC from the Ministry was not required in the case of the West Hill barracks, as it was applicable only to the Defence land in Kannur as per the Defence Ministry guidelines issued in 2016. Hence, the corporation decided to follow the Kerala Municipality Building Rules (KMBR) in which Defence NOC is sought if the construction activity is within 10 metres of the Defence land perimeter.
District Collector Seeram Sambasiva Rao had also noted that only training activities were held in the West Hill barracks, and hence there was no threat to national security if buildings came up near the facility.
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However, in the reply to the Mayor’s letter to the Defence Secretary demanding explanation, it was specified that Defence NOC was required for any construction within 500 metres of the barracks as well as the Captain Vikram Maidan at West Hill. It also questioned the corporation’s decision to provide building permits beyond 10 metres from the Defence land perimeter.
The corporation is planning to hold another meeting involving Defence authorities and people’s representatives soon to sort out the issue.