Highlight
• The Scales of Accommodation initiative is aligned with union government policies
• Such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital India, Green Buildings, and so on
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the revision of the Scales of Accommodation 2022 for defence services on Thursday, which authorises the construction of operational, functional, training, administrative, living, and recreation facilities for the defence services.
The SoA is a policy initiative aligned with the union government’s policies such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Digital India, Green Buildings, and so on.
Overview
The amended Scales of Accommodation emphasise the construction of basements/stilt/multilevel parking to save space, multi-purpose indoor courts and additional basketball courts, and renewable energy generation facilities such as solar, wind, tidal, and so on.
To accommodate electrical appliances used by married personnel of all ranks, the SoA provides additional electrical points in their accommodations.
Modular kitchens, luggage storage, aesthetically better wall, ceiling, and floor finishes, prepaid metres, LED lights, car garage authorization for junior commissioned officers (75 percent) and other ranks (50 percent ).
The implementation of the Scales of Accommodation 2022 would result in significant improvements in facilities and specifications commensurate with temporary requirements.
According to the SoA, the optimization of defence land usage through multi-story construction and austerity measures through the consolidation of common facilities have been emphasised.
On this occasion, the defence minister urged the Military Engineer Services, the premier construction service, to devote itself to nation building.
The MES, led by Engineer-in-Chief Lieutenant General Harpal Singh, is one of the pillars of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, which provides back-up engineering support to the armed forces and other Defence Ministry organisations.
It is one of the largest construction firms in the country, with a total annual workload of 30,000 crore.
The construction agency is responsible for a variety of construction activities for military stations and cantonments throughout the country, including border areas, such as residential and office buildings,
hospitals, roads, runways, and marine structures.
