‘Archaic’ MES not carrying out, requires reforms: Top leader

NEW DELHI: Slamming the “non-performance” of the predominantly-civilian Military Engineer Services (MES), a leading Army leader has actually required the organisation’s ‘corporatisation’ or extreme overhaul to make it functionally more effective, efficient and economical. The treatments followed by the MES are “antiquated, limiting, lengthy and not in conformity with modern-day building and construction strategies”, which likewise cause big time and expense overruns, stated the basic officer commanding-in-chief (GOC-in-C) of among the 7 commands of the 12-lakh strong Army. “This has actually manifested in increased bottle-necks, extended hold-ups in execution and work quality far from expectation. In the last analysis, user complete satisfaction (mostly Army, Navy and IAF) stays bad and we do not get the bang for the dollar,” included the senior Lt-General, in a letter to the Army HQ in New Delhi. The missive on the “Need for MES Reforms” is resolved to Quarter Master General Lt-Gen Rajinder Dewan, with copies marked to vice chief Lt-Gen B S Raju and other leading officers like the Engineer-in-Chief who supervises the MES. The MES offers “rear line” engineering assistance to the militaries and other organisations under the defence ministry, performing many building and construction activities such as property and office complex, laboratories and medical facilities, roadways and runways, dockyards and jetties throughout the nation. Among the biggest building and upkeep firms in the nation, MES has an overall yearly work of around Rs 30,000 crore. Around 84% of the MES officers and other workers are civilians, while the rest are from the Army’s Corps of Engineers. The Army, on b
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