After Congress racks-up issue, Thakur says he will talk to PM, Def Minister
Shimla: The Indian Army's move to shift ARTRAC (Army Training Command ) headquarters from Shimla to Ambala on Thursday found a strong voice from the opposition Congress alleging a 'design' to deprive historical hill town of its landmark institutions of national importance.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, however, was prompt to assure the Congress leadership to take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"There is no official confirmation about the move as far as state government is concerned. I will take up the matter both with Prime Minister Modi and Defence Minister. We will see that ARTRAC is not shifted out of Shimla," he told the leader of the opposition, Mukesh Agnihotri, who raised the issue in the state Vidhan Sabha.
Thakur said he came to know about the move only some days back when some retired army officers met him. They demanded that ARTRAC was an important institution of strategic importance. Its presence in Shimla has its own relevance to the place. Thus, it must not be allowed to be moved out to any other place.
Sharing the common view, Chief Minister said, "I do feel that the ARTRAC has its own historical and strategic significance and I will leave no stone unturned to withdraw the proposal of shifting HQ ARTRAC from Shimla. Our defence forces make their own internal strategies as per their requirement but individually I am against its shifting."
Earlier, Agnihotri said he had got the information regarding the decision of shifting the HQ ARTRAC from Shimla to Ambala from his sources. There are reports confirming this in the section of local and national media.
He said efforts should be made to stop its shifting. Whatever may be the considerations or compulsions of the Army but ARTRAC should not be shifted as it's the ideal place for the army to work in a peaceful atmosphere. It's already 25 years that ARTRAC has got its roots deep in Shimla.
He recalled that earlier Western Command headquarters were shifted from Shimla to Chandimandir in Haryana in 1985.
The ARTRAC Hqs was established here in Shimla March 1993 after it was moved there from Mhow in Madhya Pradesh. Currently, the entire establishment is located in the finest and architecturally magnificent heritage buildings of the British era. The buildings, at one point of time, housed the headquarters of The Indian Army during the summer months.
The ARTRAC has been tasked to draft and disseminate concepts and doctrines related to strategy, operational art, tactics, logistics, training and human resource development for the army.
