After repeated demands from the Military Engineering Services (MES) about loss of revenue in cantonments due to shortage of staff in the Barracks & Stores cadre (B&S), the Defence Ministry has initiated measures to fill some of the vacancies on priority basis as well as outsourcing certain functions to address the issue.
“The government has sanctioned a one-time filling of 1,573 posts in the cadre. Also, the cadre review of B&S is under consideration,” Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on November 25.
Sanctioned posts
Officials said the sanctioned posts included 450 supervisors, 478 Grade-I storekeepers, 481 Grade-II storekeepers and 164 meter readers and the recruitment process had begun.
B&S constitute the civilian staff under the MES and are instrumental in recovering dues for utilities like rent, electricity, water and other allied charges from over four lakh residential and commercial occupants inside cantonments across the country.
As The Hindu had reported earlier, the shortage is so acute that the MES could not carry out any study to estimate the shortfall in revenue.
Bahujan Samaj Party MP Ambeth Rajan had, in the past, written to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the issue highlighting that the strength of the cadre was 904 against a sanctioned strength of 3,085, which, he said, was causing a revenue loss of Rs. 3000 crore per year over the last decade. The issue was also repeatedly taken up by the Engineer-in-Chief (E-in-C), the head of the MES, as well as the All India Barrack & Stores Cadre association.
Dr. Bhamre added that the cadre review of the B&S was under consideration of the Ministry.
This has been a long-term demand as no cadre review in B&S was ever undertaken while other cadres under the MES had seen the 3rd review.
Outsourcing functions
In a letter dated September 29, 2016, the Defence Ministry conveyed to the three Services “the sanction from the President for ‘outsourcing the activities of meter reading and generating bills’ in all the formations where work services are being provided by the MES.”
The existing Meter Reading Staff may be deployed in different areas …, the order stated.
