Outgoing Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who will retire on July 31, praised the “decisiveness” of the NDA Government during a farewell function for him organised by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley here.
The tea party was also attended by the three Services Chiefs and Defence Secretary R K Mathur.
Speaking at the function on Wednesday, Singh said the brief period in which he got to work with the new political dispensation, he was impressed with the government’s decisiveness, officials said hereon Thursday.
His remarks came in the backdrop of the NDA Government clearing several pending strategic road projects and sanctioning environmental clearances for them along the border with China soon after assuming office.
These projects were awaiting environmental clearances for last some years and the NDA Government decided that given the strategic importance of these roads, the defence ministry need not come to the Ministry for environment and respective States bordering China can take a call on these projects on their own.The Government also went along with the Army’s view that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act(AFSPA) now in force in Jammu and Kashmir should not be changed.
Several political parties were demanding that AFSPA should be partially removed from four districts of the State where situation is normal. The Army has maintained that if the proposal goes through, these districts will provide safe haven to anti-national elements and security forces will not be able to take action against them.