In February 2024, Colonel Anuj Antal, the adm­inistrative commandant of the army cantonment in the border town of Ferozepur, Punjab, wrote to then governor Banwarilal Purohit, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry and the registration of an FIR against dis­trict revenue officials for forging records pertaining to 15 acres of land belonging to the military. His allegation: that the piece of land outside the cantonment known as Jahaz Ground—once an emergency airfield for the Indian Air Force (IAF) used as camouflaging ground for weaponry during the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars—had been sold off to private individuals, compromising security near the India-Pakistan border. This is not an iso­lated incident, across India, land owned by the armed for­­­ces—spread across prime locations and worth crores of rupees—has been gra­bbed by real estate mafias with the alleged involvement of local officials, military personnel and bureaucrats within the min­istry of defence (MoD). Indeed, the situation is dire: according to the Centre, an estimated 10,354 acres of defence land is being illegally encroached upon or sold off in fraudulent deals.