The Indian Navy has chosen Telangana as a key base. The second VLF (very low frequency) communication transmission station in the country is being set up in Vikarabad district.
The Navy uses VLF (Very Low Frequency) communication transmission station to communicate with ships and submarines. This station will be set up in Damagudem forest area near Puduru of Vikarabad mandal. This is the second station in the country. INS Kattabomman Radar Station at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu was the first of its kind. It has been serving the Navy since 1990. The Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam has already identified Telangana as a suitable area for setting up a second radar station.
Since 2010, the Navy has been in touch with the state government. Despite all the environmental permits and clearances, the allotment of land did not proceed due to the negligence of the previous government. With the special initiative of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, all the obstacles to this project were removed. Commodore Karthik Shankar, Circle DEO Rohit Bhupathi and Captain Sandeep Das met Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday.
The officials of Vikarabad DFO and Naval Command Agency signed the agreement for transfer of forest lands. 1174 hectares of forest land under Damagudem Reserve Forest has been handed over to the Navy. In 2014 itself, the Union Forest and Environment Department approved the Navy’s proposals. Campa funds of Rs 133.54 crores for handing over forest land and Navy has paid Rs 18.56 crores for the works undertaken for land conservation measures.
The Damagudem Forest Protection has filed a petition in court seeking to cancel this project. The court has issued orders to take all precautions in accordance with the conditions decided by the government. Along with the navy station, the township would have schools, hospitals, banks and markets. This naval unit consists of around 600 naval personnel and other civilians. About 2500 to 3000 people live in this township.
Adequate measures would be taken to preserve biodiversity and ecological balance in the region through extensive planting. As a part of this project, about 27 km of road will be constructed around Damagundam Reserve Forest. This new VLF center will be completed in 2027.
