Govt accepts Shekatkar panel recommendations on border infrastructure

Govt accepts Shekatkar panel recommendations on border infrastructure

Taking further the ongoing process of accepting and implementing the recommendations of the Shekatkar Committee, the government has given its nod to three key suggestions on strengthening the infrastructure in border areas of the country. The decision comes days after Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had approved the proposal to abolish over 9,300 posts of the Military Engineering Services (MES), the infrastructure development agency for armed forces and defence establishments. In mid-2016, the then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had ordered the constitution of the Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Lt Gen Shekatkar (Retd) with a mandate to ‘suggest measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the armed forces.’ The CoE submitted its report in December 2016. Ministry of Defence officials said on Monday that the Union government has approved recommendation of CoE to outsource road construction work beyond optimal capacity of Border Road…