Chapter 17 - Indian Defense Estates Service (IDES) | A Bouquet of Services by IPS Lohit Matani and IPS Vishal - UPSC PDF Download

Indian Defense Estates Service (IDES)

Contributor:    Mr. Ajay Bernwal, IDES 2012 Batch

17.1 Cadre Structure and Overview

The middle level comprises the Directorates as Regional Headquarters supervising the field offices. There are 6 Directorates, co-located with 6 Army Commands. These are located at Lucknow, Pune, Jammu, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and the youngest Command, the South-Western Command established in 2006 at Jaipur. These Directorates are headed by the Principal Directors (HAG). At the field level, there are Chief Executive Officers in the 62 Cantonment Boards and Defense Estates Officers in 37 Defense Estates Circles and 04 Assistant Defense Estates Offices, all located at the cutting edge of administration. The Chief Executive officer (CEO) is the executive head of the Cantonment and responsible for the day to day administration.

The Vision of the Defense Estates Organization is to develop Cantonments as model townships which offer a wholesome environment and urban living to its residents, both uniformed personnel and civilians; to establish a system of land management that vigorously secures Defense land and ensures its optimum utilization; and to maximize satisfaction of the public that comes in contact with it.

17.2 Roles and Responsibilities

The IDES officers perform the following roles and responsibilities:

I.    Management of Defense Lands

The Defense Forces require large areas of land for training, ranges, depots, airfields, quartering, camping, offices, etc for military activities. Ministry of Defense, therefore, owns large tracts of land of approx. 17.54 lakh acres. The responsibility of day-to-day management of this land is with the IDES officers.

Officers advise to frame policies and instructions and ensure their implementation on all land matters including:

1. Preparation of policies on resumption of certain class of Defense lands situated in cantonments.
2. Regular survey of Defense lands.
3. Regular audit of Defense land inter-alia to optimize their utilization.
4. Maintenance of accurate, digitized record of lands, including regular updating them.
5. Handling of litigation arising out of land acquisition for Defense purposes.
6. Handling of litigation regarding ownership of Defense land.
7. Mutation and conversion of old grant/ lease-hold properties.
8. Transfer/ disposal of surplus Camping Grounds/ Abandoned Air Fields.
9. Reclassification of land.
10. Grant and renewal of leases and licenses.
11. Prevention, detection and removal of encroachments.
12. Licensing of sites for advertisement hoardings on Defense lands.

II.  Acquisition of Defense Land

IDES officers play an important responsibility for acquisition of land for Services and other Defense establishments i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force, DRDO and others. After ‘in-principle approval’ is given by Ministry of Defense for a particular project involving acquisition of land, a Board of Officers is convened by the Local Military Authority (LMA) for formulating the proposal. The Board of Officers are advised by IDES officers on the cost of land and assets as well as Rehabilitation and Resettlement aspects. On getting government sanction for acquisition, IDES officers place demand on District Collector/ Competent Authority for acquisition of land. They also do liaison with the Land Acquisition Department/ State Government for expediting the process. Any court case arising during the acquisition proceedings are defended by IDES officers on behalf of the Government to expedite land acquisition. Payments on account of compensation are assessed and released by the IDES officers.

III. Administration of Cantonment Board

Urban Self Governance in the Cantonment Boards is the responsibility of the Union Government. CEO (an IDES officer) of Cantonment Board is responsible for the overall municipal administration of the cantonments. IDES officer also serves as President and Member Secretary of the Cantonment Boards. They are responsible for maintaining ecological balance in Cantonments while at the same time providing better civil facilities to the residents. They are also responsible for development of cantonment as model townships including provision of quality school education for all children, health care for all residents, social care system for the aged, differently-abled and the disadvantaged sections of the society.

IV. Functions in DGDE for Cantonment Administration

Officers posted in DGDE perform the following functions towards Cantonment Administration:

1. They give policy advice and other advice in respect of various facets of Cantonment administration.
2. They prepare and submit Annual Administration Report of all Cantonments to the Parliament.
3. They help in enactment of Rules, Regulations and Bye-laws for Cantonment Boards.
4. They conduct election of Cantonment Boards.
5. They monitor, inspect and guide the Boards on various functional parameters.
6. They perform assessment of the need for grants to Cantonments and allotment of Ordinary and Special Grants-in-aid to Cantonment Boards.
7. They assess and allot service charges to all Cantonment Boards.
8. They process taxation proposals related to Cantonment areas.
9. They perform general administrative tasks like classification of posts and settlement of industrial disputes.
10. They perform welfare functions for the uniformed as well as non-uniformed personnel posted in Cantonment Board.

V.  Hiring of Lands and Buildings

IDES officers are responsible for processing proposals for hiring and de-hiring and requisitioning and de-requisitioning of immovable properties for Defense purposes. They sanction and release fund towards rental and other compensation of the hired/ requisitioned properties.

VI. In Archival Unit and Resource Centre (AURC):

IDES officers perform the task of proper management and maintenance of the land records which inter-alia include records relating to the Government titles on land, record of acquisition proceedings, maintenance of Government Land Records (GLRs) and Military Land Records (MLRs), revenue survey plans, old-grant deeds, lease documents and other crucial land records which have the evidence of Government’s titles on lands. The officers posted in AURC ensure keeping of indexed digital images and microfilm backup of all Defense Land Records.

17.3 Normal Growth Profile

We will be discussing about the various career opportunities an IDES Officer has in a separate topic. However, this topic only deals with various ranks an IDES Officer holds during his professional life. These ranks are held when he/ she is working in his/ her main line department.

17.4 Recruitment

The recruitment into IDES happens through two channels:

1. People are inducted into IDES after qualifying in the Civil Services Exam conducted by UPSC (75%)
2. Rest 25% people are inducted through promotion from Group B officers.

17.5 Training

The training of IDES consists of 6 months academic training in the National Institute of Defense Estates Management (NIDEM), New Delhi. The training here consists of different programs aimed at developing professional skills of the officers of IDES in discharging their duties of civic administration in the Cantonments and land administration and management of Defense lands including acquisition, hiring and requisitioning for Defense purposes. It also consists of various attachments in institutions like National Institute of Financial Administration (NIFA), Cantonment Boards, Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), and so on.

After this, officer trainees are posted as independent DEO/ CEO for 1.5 years. Thus, the most part of the training of an IDES officer is on the job training.

17.6 Variety of Opportunities for IDES Officers

Apart from the usual work profile in their line department, IDES Officers have ample opportunities to serve in organizations of State as well as national level.

17.7    Perks, Privileges and Advantages for an IDES Officer

1. IDES officers get officers like privileges right after 6 months of their academy training. The facilities like vehicle with a beacon, domestic help and a house are provided to IDES officers very early in their service. In fact, no other service officers get such facilities after 6 months of joining the service.
2. IDES officers enjoy the facilities of high class infrastructure of Defense services.
3. Cantonments are autonomous bodies which make their own policies and decisions for administration. The interference from other quarters is very less. IDES officers, as CEO of these cantonments, enjoy a high degree of independence in discharging their duties.
4. The service offers sufficient time to maintain a good work life balance in the normal course of duty.
5. The officers enjoy independence in their work right from their first posting. Such opportunity and independence to work right from the first posting is not present in other services.
6. The officers of IDES perform advisory role to Defense forces. Apart from this, they play a great role in road maintenance and drafting of bye laws for cantonment boards. Such works provide them a sense of job satisfaction.

17.8 Occupational Hazards

The officers of IDES often complain of the slow rate of promotion in the service. Secondly, there is no hierarchy in the service up to the SAG rank. Right from their training period to 18th year of service, IDES officers are posted either as DEO or CEO. This is the biggest drawback and the major source of demotivation in the service. Thirdly, the various developmental and reforms projects suggested by the IDES officers require permission from the General Officer Commanding (GOC). Apart from this, the projects suggested suffer from various permissions, clearances and bureaucratic hurdles.

17.9    Case Studies Indicating the Work, Challenges and Dilemmas Faced by                          an IDES Officer

17.9.1 Balancing the Army Command with the Public Needs

IDES is one of the few services which work under the leadership of Indian Army. They have to balance between the demands of army officers and elected representatives. Often these two parties have cross-interests, and thus the work of IDES officers is closely watched. Mr. Abhimanyu, CEO of Varanasi Cantonment faced a difficult situation in this regard.

In Varanasi, the cantonment area connects the old city with the newly developed city. The other way to reach the new city is very lengthy and time consuming. However, due to safety and other cantonment issues, Army decided to close the connecting road passing through the cantonment area. This decision was taken without considering the demands of the local public. The local public was angry with the decision as this impacted the daily life of many of the businessmen and students. This also affected them economically.

Local people, along with their elected representative, came to the office of Mr. Abhimanyu with their grievance. They pleaded him to change the decision and asked them to communicate their message to the military command. They also threatened to start agitations. However, Mr. Abhimanyu was unable to help them as the Army officers were adamant in their decision. They also showed their displeasure on Mr. Abhimanyu for his favor towards the local political people and their demands. His senior from the armed forces also threatened that he will ruin Abhimanyu’s Annual Confidential Report (ACR).

The next day local citizens started protesting over their demands. They did road demonstrations and blocked other roads in the city. They asked Mr. Abhimanyu to find a solution to their demands.

Q. What is the challenge and dilemma Abhimanyu is facing? How will you react in place of Abhimanyu? Describe different course of actions and the impact of all of them. Finally choose the best course of action.

17.9.2 Dilemma between Development and Security

IDES is a unique service in the sense that it has to work under cross pressures of development and security. A Cantonment Board is responsible for the maintenance and development of a cantonment area. It has officers from both the military as well as civil servants side. This cantonment area has two regions- one where military personnel reside and other where civilians reside. The IDES officers (from civil servants side) are responsible for the development and growth of the cantonment area, especially where the civilians reside.

However, the main concern of military personnel is the safety and security of the whole area. They do not give permission for major developmental projects on the premise of security of the region. The same happened with Mr. Vijay Sahani, an IDES officer and CEO of Dibrughar Area in Assam. The area in which he was posted was underdeveloped and remote. It was also a bed of hiding insurgents. Vijay Sahani was a very innovative person and wanted to use his skills for the development of the region.

While patrolling the whole region, Vijay found a remote lake between adjacent mountains. He also saw beautiful images of tribal gods and goddesses in the mountain caves of these mountains. The whole area had profound scenic beauty and potential of becoming a major tourist destination. However, it was not connected with a good road and there were no boat services in the lake.

Mr. Vijay wanted to develop this lake and surrounding mountains as a tourist destination. He made a proposal to make new roads connecting to this region. He also invited local people to start boat services in the lake. Moreover, he proposed to develop a cemented region with staircase in the front and at the approaching side of the lake. He invited local people to start small shops in the region.

However, GOC was unhappy with the proposal. His view was that the lake lies in an insurgency impacted district and developing such a lake in the cantonment area will jeopardize the security of the military personnel living there. Citing the above reason, the GOC gave a negative remark on the proposal of Mr. Vijay. However, there were concerns other than the above one mentioned officially. GOC was unhappy because he thought that due to the development of this lake many young couples will visit the region. He was concerned about the private activities in which the couples may indulge in the remote areas of the lake and the adjacent mountains. This apart from the noise they will create may affect the gentlemen’s lifestyle of the military personnel in the cantonment. 

Mr. Vijay was very demotivated with the decision of GOC. He started feeling helpless and started thinking about resigning from the job.

Q. Analyze the whole situation and the ethical dilemmas involved in the proposal and plan of Mr. Vijay. Are the concerns of GOC justified? In the place of Mr. Vijay, what steps would have you taken in order to get your proposal passed? Suggest any suitable modifications in the proposal. Also suggest a strategy to convince the GOC in moving forward with the plan.

17.9.3 Political Insulation versus Sensitivity

IDES is one service where the actions of officers are insulated from political interference as the Army protects the interests of the officers. However, such insulation from popular supervision may sometimes also lead to loss of sensitivity.

Mr. Kularaj Swami was posted as CEO of Panchamari Cantonment. The cantonment was suffering from land encroachment all around it. Many of the food vendors, small shops and moving traffic had encroached on the land of the cantonment. Due to this, the cantonment lost much of its land. This also impacted the security of the cantonment area as many of the food vendors and local traders could indulge in theft and loot activities.

Kularaj made a strategy to remove the whole encroachment with an iron hand. He gave one day warning to all the people and started removing all the shops on the subsequent day. He also indulged in cruel means of breaking down a whole shop and impacting the businessmen economically. Many of the local politicians were unhappy with his behavior and threatened to transfer him out from Panchmari. However, he had the support of Indian Army and was thus saved from any unwanted transfer from the region.

He was successful in removing the whole encroachment in a week’s time. In comparison, his batch mate from IPS lost his life while trying to remove encroachment from a civilian area in Mathura.

Q. Although Kularaj is immune from political interference, but do you think the steps taken by him were completely right? What are the ethical issues while removing encroachment from an area? Can you suggest a better strategy to remove the encroachment? Is it right to completely neglect the demands of the local politicians?

You must have witnessed land encroachment in your local areas. Sometimes these land encroachments are as old as 10-15 years. What are the difficulties that the local administration faces in removing these encroachments? How are the IDES officers better placed in removing the encroachments from their region?