On Thursday, a delegation of 20 Left MPs, including CITU Bengal president Shyamal Chakraborty and state Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty, called on Defence Minister A K Antony with a request that the Army-owned Maidan be handed over to the Bengal government.

On February 8, the Left Front had kicked of its Lok Sabha election campaign with a massive rally at the Brigade Parade Ground, which they claimed had drawn nearly 10 lakh supporters. The rally left the Maidan in a mess, its green cover in shambles as the participants planted poles for erecting the stage and cooked food.

For several years now, the Eastern Command headquarters at Fort William has objected to the use of Maidan for public functions, and has refused to grant permission for the annual Kolkata Book Fair to be held at the ground. The battle for the Maidan, home to football giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal as well as the Race Course, has been an annual tussle in court with Army authorities.

At the Thursday meeting, Subhas Chakraborty reportedly told Antony that the state government “did not wish to spoil the Maidan”. Instead, the government wanted to take over the responsibility for maintaining it in the way the Army has been doing all these years.

“The Maidan and the adjoining Shahid Minar are an integral part of the city’s heritage. The Army has agreed to hand over 4.5 acres of land adjacent to the Minar to the government. We had initially planned to set up a massive bus terminus there but it was scrapped once we realised that the entry of nearly 4,500 buses will be harmful to the environment,” the transport minister reportedly said.

Senior officers at Fort William said the Army was the custodian of the Maidan as the land belonged to the Defence Ministry. “We will hand it over to the state government if the Defence Ministry asks us,” they said, adding that the objection against rallies stems from the fact that it is Army’s land. “The Defence Ministry gives permission for holding rallies and events. It has traditional value for us. Also, we have not erected any structure on it, making a green patch in the heart of the city. If it were to be developed, the city would be robbed of a much-needed green cover,” Army sources said.