Abolition of 9,304 posts in Military Engineering Service

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for the abolition of 9,304 posts in the Military Engineering Service (MES).

The committee aimed to restructure the civilian workforce. As per the recommendation, the work of MES could be partly done by departmentally employed staff and other works could be outsourced.

A total of 13,157 vacancies were there in MES. The abolished 9,304 posts were included in the vacancies.

The committee recommended the closure of military farms and postal establishments in peace regions.

It suggested reducing the number of officers to 200.

It recommended enhancing the standards to recruit drivers in the army and clerical staff.

The 11-member Shekatkar Committee was appointed by the late Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2016. Shekatkar Committee had made a total of 99 recommendations.

The implementation of the recommendation of the committee will save Rs.25,000 crores. In 2017, around 65 were approved by the Ministry of Defence.