NEW DELHI: Slamming the “non-performance” of the predominantly-civilian Military Engineer Services (MES), a top Army commander has called for the organisation’s `corporatisation’ or drastic overhaul to make it functionally more efficient, productive and cost-effective.
The procedures followed by the MES are “archaic, restrictive, time-consuming and not in conformity with modern construction techniques”, which also lead to huge time and cost overruns, said the general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of one of the seven commands of the 12-lakh strong Army.
“This has manifested in increased bottle-necks, prolonged delays in execution and work quality far from expectation. In the final analysis, user satisfaction (primarily Army, Navy and IAF) remains poor and we do not get the bang for the buck,” added the senior Lt-General, in a letter to the Army HQ in New Delhi.
The missive on the “Need for MES Reforms” is addressed to Quarter Master General Lt-Gen Rajinder Dewan, with copies marked to vice chief Lt-Gen B S Raju and other top officers like the Engineer-in-Chief who oversees the MES.
The MES provides “rear line” engineering support to the armed forces and other organisations under the defence ministry, carrying out multifarious construction activities such as residential and office buildings, labs and hospitals, roads and runways, dockyards and jetties across the country.
One of the largest construction and maintenance agencies in the country, MES has a total annual workload of around Rs 30,000 crore. Around 84% of the MES officers and other personnel are civilians, while the rest are from the Army’s Corps of Engineers.
The Army, on being contacted by TOI, refused to comment. Sources, however, said: “Feedback on services of the MES is received at the Army HQ regularly. All constructive suggestions are analysed — including some mentioned in the letter — and implemented or are under-implementation.”
But clearly much more is required. Quoting various studies and performance data, the GOC-in-C’s letter said there are huge delays in processing of documents and conclusion of tenders. Turning to `poor’ contract management, it said 41% of projects are delayed leading to “repeated extensions” of the completion dates. “Our experience is that rarely any project gets completed within the given PDC,” it added.
The letter even calls for a `pilot project’ on outsourcing of maintenance services, especially in metro cities, to reputed civilian companies. This comes in the backdrop of widespread complaints by officers and soldiers over shoddy construction and poor maintenance of their accommodation across the country. “It’s miserable staying in official quarters. The civilian MES cadre urgently needs to be made more accountable,” a Colonel said.
Outlining the “broad contours of an alternative system”, the letter said the models adopted for the overhaul of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Air India should be analysed for the changes to be brought into the MES.
As part of the corporatisation of the mammoth OFB in 2021, the government had split its 41 factories, assets, employees and management into seven new 100% government-owned companies to ensure functionally autonomy, more productivity and cost-efficiency as the main suppliers of arms, ammunition and clothing to the 15-lakh strong armed forces.
The procedures followed by the MES are “archaic, restrictive, time-consuming and not in conformity with modern construction techniques”, which also lead to huge time and cost overruns, said the general officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of one of the seven commands of the 12-lakh strong Army.
“This has manifested in increased bottle-necks, prolonged delays in execution and work quality far from expectation. In the final analysis, user satisfaction (primarily Army, Navy and IAF) remains poor and we do not get the bang for the buck,” added the senior Lt-General, in a letter to the Army HQ in New Delhi.
The missive on the “Need for MES Reforms” is addressed to Quarter Master General Lt-Gen Rajinder Dewan, with copies marked to vice chief Lt-Gen B S Raju and other top officers like the Engineer-in-Chief who oversees the MES.
The MES provides “rear line” engineering support to the armed forces and other organisations under the defence ministry, carrying out multifarious construction activities such as residential and office buildings, labs and hospitals, roads and runways, dockyards and jetties across the country.
One of the largest construction and maintenance agencies in the country, MES has a total annual workload of around Rs 30,000 crore. Around 84% of the MES officers and other personnel are civilians, while the rest are from the Army’s Corps of Engineers.
The Army, on being contacted by TOI, refused to comment. Sources, however, said: “Feedback on services of the MES is received at the Army HQ regularly. All constructive suggestions are analysed — including some mentioned in the letter — and implemented or are under-implementation.”
But clearly much more is required. Quoting various studies and performance data, the GOC-in-C’s letter said there are huge delays in processing of documents and conclusion of tenders. Turning to `poor’ contract management, it said 41% of projects are delayed leading to “repeated extensions” of the completion dates. “Our experience is that rarely any project gets completed within the given PDC,” it added.
The letter even calls for a `pilot project’ on outsourcing of maintenance services, especially in metro cities, to reputed civilian companies. This comes in the backdrop of widespread complaints by officers and soldiers over shoddy construction and poor maintenance of their accommodation across the country. “It’s miserable staying in official quarters. The civilian MES cadre urgently needs to be made more accountable,” a Colonel said.
Outlining the “broad contours of an alternative system”, the letter said the models adopted for the overhaul of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Air India should be analysed for the changes to be brought into the MES.
As part of the corporatisation of the mammoth OFB in 2021, the government had split its 41 factories, assets, employees and management into seven new 100% government-owned companies to ensure functionally autonomy, more productivity and cost-efficiency as the main suppliers of arms, ammunition and clothing to the 15-lakh strong armed forces.
