Military cantonments to be transformed into smart, green, sustainable urban ecosystems; will have these facilities
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has called upon the Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES) officers to strive for the development of Cantonment Boards into smart, green & sustainable urban ecosystems in sync with the Government’s vision of transforming India into a developed country, and aspire to achieve the target by 2035. He was delivering the keynote address at ‘MANTHAN 2025’, a two-day national conference organised by the Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) on the central theme ‘Strategic Roadmap to Viksit Bharat @2047’, in New Delhi on September 18.
Cantonments to be developed like modern cities
Appreciating IDES officers for successfully fulfilling a dual responsibility – managing over 18 lakh acres of defence land and ensuring the welfare of civilians residing in 61 cantonments pan-India, Raksha Mantri stressed on the need to develop military cantonments like modern cities by continuously upgrading systems and processes to make service delivery more efficient, transparent & citizen-friendly.
“We must transform Cantonment boards into modern, transparent, and accountable institutions that can deliver services that meet the demands of the times. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that Cantonment residents have the best civic amenities and a quick grievance redressal mechanism,” he added.
Future cantonments will be smart
Underscoring the need to enhance the Ease of Living of the residents, Rajnath Singh pitched for advancing digital platforms such as e-Chhawani 2.0 with the inclusion of AI-driven grievance redressal, multilingual services, and smart health. There is a need to specifically focus on the welfare of the poor, the disabled, senior citizens and special children in the Cantonments, he said, adding that future cantonments need to be smart, equipped with smart power systems, renewable energy grids, EV charging hubs, smart waste-to-energy plants and AI-based surveillance systems.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) Shailendra Nath Gupta and DGDE-designate Shobha Gupta were among the dignitaries who attended the event.